Safety
by ForeverInYourFavor
Summary: A little girl changed Dean's life 15 years ago. He kept away to protect her, now can he change her life the way she changed his? Dean as a father of a teenager. Please R
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys! I'm going to try my hand at a Supernatural fanfiction story. I have another one about American Horror Story and I got this great idea for a Supernatural one the other night since I was watching it on Netflix. Hope y'all like it.

I feel like it does hit some disturbing/seriously points as it goes on so if it goes too far please let me know. I just sat down one night and couldn't stop typing so I'll understand if it get hard to read or just plain disturbing just please tell me and I can change the story line some. Thanks!

Disclaimer: I, sadly, do not own Supernatural and anything I've written here is a work of fiction.

1996

The three Winchester boys were off once again. Leaving New Jersey and onto the next demonic destination. Dean stared out the passenger window as Sam lay down in the backseat writing something. Dean had spent the morning making fun of his geek brother for doing homework that no longer mattered. John had put his parental foot down and told the boys not to make a sound and for two hours, they hadn't. John pulled his black Impala into a rest area. He took out his pistol filled with rock salt and opened the door.

"I'll be right back. Stay in the car." He told his boys. Dean nodded while Sam just wrote.

"Do you know how pointless it is to still be doing that?" Dean scoffed.

"Dean, spell Anthropology." Sam said back. Dean whipped his head around and stared at his baby brother, "I thought so," Sam replied, "It isn't worthless. You'll thank me for knowing this stuff one day."

"Not likely." Dean scoffed. "You're twelve, you don't need to spell anthropology anyways."

"Dean, you're sixteen. You _should_ be able to spell it. Do you see the problem?" Sam almost laughed.

"Whatever." Dean crossed his arms and turned back around.

He could hear a buzzing noise come from the glove department. He dug through it until he could the family phone. John had purchased it after Sam had gotten left at a gas station a few months back. The boys were to keep it with them so John could find them at any given time. It was a number Dean only slightly recognized. He must've dialed it a few times before.

"Hello?" Dean answered. There was no one speaking on the other end but he could hear breathing. "Who is this?" Dean asked almost afraid of the answer. No voice usually meant something bad was going to happen.

"Dean. Dean Winchester." A girl's voice said.

"Speaking. Who is this?"

"It's Amanda from Truman High School. You were here about two months-"

"Yeah, I remember you. Is something wrong?" He interrupted.

She didn't say anything. He could tell the girl was scared. "Amanda? What is it?" He finally asked again. Sam sat up and gave his brother a quizzical look.

"I have to tell you something so just, listen up." She tried to be fierce. Sam hit Dean's arm but he pushed his brother away.  
"What is going on? Are you hurt?"

"No, Dean, I'm fine I'm just…" There was a long pause. Dean waited.

"Amanda!" He couldn't take it.

"Dean, I'm pregnant." She blurted out. She had said it so loud that Sam heard it. He would've heard it either way since his head was so close to the phone. Dean looked at his little brother who had gone ghost white. At that moment, John got back in the car with a neutral look on his face. Once he saw that Sam was ready to pass out and Dean was ready to vomit, his face grew to a confused look.

"What is it?" John asked his sons.

2011 

Shylan walked out of the classroom. It was more like sneaking out since she was technically suppose to be in class for another twenty minutes. It was a world history class and it was more than difficult to sit through, especially for an hour. Shylan quickly walked down the hall towards the guy's bathroom by the field house door. Her long chestnut hair hung down her back pushed down by her wool hat. Shylan looked over her shoulder before pushing open the door and peering inside. She had to make sure her guy was in there; once in a while he wouldn't meet her at the arranged time and she would know something was wrong. The girl walked inside once she saw Tony leaning against the back wall. He had a joint in his hand standing next to the open window.

"Want a hit, kid? Just rolled it this morning. Guy I got it from called it The Purple King." He exhaled smoke from the hit and laughed. Shylan leaned against the wall and took the joint from him. She inhaled a puff of smoke and held it. It had a sweet scent to it mixed with the usual smell that pot had. Once she exhaled and handed him his joint back, she nodded.

"You never say much kid. Do you have anything to say at all?" Tony asked her. Shylan shrugged moving around him to sit on the window ledge. Tony put a hand on her thigh and twisted his finger through her fishnets. Shylan smiled at him. "I've got lots to say." She said leaning in close to him. Tony acquired a sinister smile on his face and leaned in closer.

"Oh yeah?" He asked lifting an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah, lots! But nothing worth saying to you. You wouldn't understand anyways, it's all over your head." Shylan removed his hand and hopped off the ledge. She reached into her bra and took out a wad of cash and held it out to him.

"Product please. That's all I came here for." Shylan held out her hand and waited for Tony to hand over her share. He shook his head, "One day, you'll come into this bathroom for more than my weed." He put the Ziploc bag of product into her hand and she stuffed it in her bag. Once it was secured in a zippered pocket she looked up at Tony.

"Keep holding your breath and maybe someday you'll get lucky." Shylan smiled walking towards the door.

"Hopefully it's with you." He shouted as she closed the door.


	2. Chapter 2

This is a short section but it leads into what comes next! Enjoy!

Shylan skipped the rest of her afternoon classes. One of them was advanced chemistry and the other was a study class. She really didn't need the study class and the chemistry class was after lunch and she always skipped lunch to go out to the football field. Shylan sat under the bleachers rolling her new stash of weed into papers. Next to Shylan sat Callie.

Callie and Shylan have only been hanging out for three months because of their pot business. And even then, they weren't really friends.

"I told you that I sell to the under classmen that take the advanced classes! I take practically all of them." Callie whined. She put the newly rolled joint in her bag and stood up. Shylan looked up at Callie. Callie was a tall blonde with the smallest breasts Shylan had ever seen and they were almost sixteen. Shylan was pretty sure Callie already was sixteen though. Shylan rolled her eyes, "Whatever Callie. But whatever you make you give 20% of your profit to me."

"That isn't fair!" She screamed throwing down her bag. Shylan stood up with a dark smile over her face.

"You don't know who I buy from and if you want to continue selling you'll give me 20%. Or I can find someone much stupider than you to do it." Shylan threw her bag strap over her shoulder and got ready to leave.

"Fine! But don't think I won't find out who you buy it from. There are only so many people."

"You might, but I've told my dealer not to sell directly to you. So good luck." She walked away leaving Callie alone under the bleachers.


	3. Chapter 3

This one is longer! Thanks for the positive feedback! Keep it up

It was almost 4:30 when Shylan got home. She quietly closed the door behind her and tip toed to her room. She closed her bedroom door just at the top of the stairs and flopped her bag down on the floor. She took off her baggy white sweatshirt and looked in the mirror. Her tank top stuck to her scrawny body with her chestnut hair hung just below her small breasts. Shylan tended to avoid the mirror in her room but today she couldn't help but glance in it. She turned around in the mirror examining the old scars on her back and shoulders and the bruises on her stomach. Shylan sighed. Nothing could be done to change what was already done. It had been months since she had had any new bruises or scars on her body and the old ones still hadn't gone away. There was a knock on her bedroom door. She quickly put her sweatshirt back on. No one knew the scars were there except her.

The young girl turned around to face the woman standing in her room.

"Hey, I didn't hear you come in. How was school?" The woman asked.

"It was fine. Go to school, go to classes, eat lunch, come home, you know." Shylan answered pulling books out of her bag.

"Yeah, I do know. I also know that you aren't supposed to skip classes. Your principal called for the eighth time this month. Shy, come on! What is going on?"

She put her bag down, "I'm sorry I just couldn't go. I felt overwhelmed." She lied. She sat down on her bed and sighed looking pathetic. The woman came and sat down next to Shylan putting her hand around her shoulders.

"I know it's been a tough year for you. But this is your chance to start over, to get back on track with school and college. That's what you want isn't it?" She asked.

"It used to be. But now I'm not sure what I want." She knew exactly what she wanted but she was afraid to tell anyone. She couldn't tell anyone.

"Okay, I'll take that as a positive sign. Dinner is at 7 don't forget to take your pills."

"Thanks Aunt Sherri." Shylan smiled. Shylan took off her sweatshirt again and opened her window. It was still warm out. She knew spring was here and her birthday was just around the corner. As soon as school was out she would be sixteen and she knew everything would change for her then. She just had to hold out a few months. In Shylan's sock drawer was her bag of supplies. She took out her bowl, papers and lighter and sat on the window sill. The stash she planned to sell was sitting under her mattress, ready to go. This was her personal stash. She lit the pot in her bowl and took a long drag. Tony always got her the best stuff and he never held back. This was the kind of day she loved. She grabbed her pill bottle on top of her dresser and popped two Effexor pills and two Clozaril pills. Instead of closing the window when she was finished, she grabbed her bag and jumped down from her window sill and onto the grass. Sneaking out wasn't a new concept to her or her aunt. They both knew she did it and they both knew it ended in trouble. Shy ran down the street with her bag and around the corner. She stopped at a certain house and hopped the fence. Shy knocked on the back window and waited for an answer. A boy came around and opened the window for her. She smiled at him and kissed him before she was even in the house. He pulled her up and she threw her bag down on the bed. Shy sat on the boy's lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. They continued to kiss for several minutes before any words were exchanged. Finally he pulled away looking at her.

"Is everything okay?" He asked. She pushed his chest away smiling and biting her lip at the same time.

"Yeah, everything's fine. I'm fine, I just wanted to see you." She tried to kiss him again but he wouldn't let her.

"Are you high?" He asked her standing up. Shy sat on the edge of the bed crossing her legs.

"Who cares? You never cared before, why is it any different now?"

"Because everything's different now Shy. I can't do that with you anymore, I'm done with the drugs, and you know that. And if we were really best friends, you'd respect that." He told her. Shy grabbed her bag nodding.

"We are best friends, you know that. You can't really think I don't respect you because I do! I respect you so much." She stood up crossing the room towards him. He put his hands on her waist as she inched closer towards the boy. Shy smiled up at him and kissed him again.

"I would never make you do something you didn't want to do." He finally kissed her back. The boy pushed Shy back onto the bed looking down at her. She took off her sweatshirt and tossed it aside. He traced her arms and once he felt the bumps on her arms and back he pushed away again. Shy rolled her eyes.

"Kyle, come on! Are you going to do this every time? It's done, it's over. Can we move on from it please?" Shy told him. He sat next to her and looked at her back.

"I just, I don't like it. I should've done something and now all I see is what happened to you and how it won't ever go away." Kyle said to her. She sat up touching his shoulder.

"Kyle, it's not your fault. There was nothing you could do alright? The bruises will go away in another few weeks, they are already starting to yellow. And the scars will fade over time. In a year even I won't remember what happened."

"Is that why you over due the drugs? So you'll forget?" He whispered. She looked down at her hands and sighed.

"If you don't want me here, I'll go home." She started to grab her back and throw her sweatshirt back on to leave. Kyle got on his knees and grabbed her arm. "No, wait." He kissed her. Shy put her bag down again and lay down on the bed for Kyle again. He continued to kiss her and peel off the last few layers of her clothing. Shy sighed with satisfaction. Kyle was all she ever needed.

They had fallen asleep on his bed. When she opened her eyes, they darted around the room. She sat up and put on her tank top staring out the window shaking her head. Kyle wasn't in bed next to her and she had no idea about where he went or how to get home from here. She dug through her bag but her little orange bottle wasn't there. Shy sat on the floor with her bag tucking her knees close to her chest. The bedroom door opened and Kyle walked in. Upon seeing her sitting on the floor, he rushed over to his best friend.

"Shy? Shylan, look at me." He held her shoulders but she wasn't able to focus on him. She looked past Kyle not really focusing on anything.

"Where is your medication? Shylan, can you hear me?" Kyle grabbed her bag and threw out all the contents not finding a pill bottle. She hid her face between her knees and her chest. He picked her up and helped her stand up.

"Shylan, please walk. I'm going to take you home to your aunt." Kyle said urgently. He always worried about her when she went all night without her medication.

Once they got around the corner to her house, he knocked on the door and it didn't take more than a minute before Shylan's aunt answered the door. She looked from Kyle to Shylan.

"Dammit Shylan." She disregarded Kyle and pulled them both in the house.


	4. Chapter 4

It's been a while because I've been on vacation and this one is short so I'm sorry!

"What did she take this time?" Aunt Sherri asked. Kyle put her down on the couch and ran upstairs with Shylan's aunt.

"She came over to my house last night already high. She didn't bring her pills though. It's severe this time. I can't get her to say anything Sherri." Kyle told her. He grabbed her Clozaril pills and ran back downstairs.

"Shylan, you need to take this." He put the bottle in her hand but she didn't grab it. She shook her head.

"I can't, its poison. I'll die." Shylan whispered.

"It isn't poison I promise. I would never give you something that's poisonous. You'll feel better after you take it." She slapped the bottle out of Kyle's hand shaking her head.

"I'll die if I take that."

"No, Shy please, take your pills." Kyle begged.

"No!" She stood up and ran to the kitchen. Sherri and Kyle stood in the living room.

"I should've been keeping an eye on her. But we fell asleep and I didn't think she'd leave the house for an extended time without her pills."

"She's done it before. I'm just grateful she was with you instead of one of her drug addicted friends." Sherri said. There was a clash in the kitchen and both of them ran to Shylan.

She was holding a small knife against her throat whispering to herself.

"I'll do it. You promised me this was over; you told me it would never happen again. But he's coming for me. I can't keep running. It's the easiest way." She whispered to herself. Kyle slowly walked towards her and tried to grab his arm. She swung the knife in Kyle's direction. He dodged the sharp object and stayed behind the island talking to her.

"Shylan put the knife down now. You're safe here Shy. No one is going to hurt you." He nodded at Sherri to stand in front of her while Kyle snuck around her back.

"Shylan, baby please. It's me, Aunt Sherri. Please put the knife down you're not in any danger."

Kyle wrapped his arms around her body and forced her to drop the knife. She screamed at him to let her go. His hand reached up to her mouth and he pushed the pills through her tight lips and forced her to swallow. Once they were down her throat she started crying.

"Please don't let me die." She whispered onto Kyle. Her knees buckled and they both fell to the floor. She turned her body and sunk into Kyle. He held onto his best friend and let her sob into his chest.


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks for all the positive feedback! It's making me want to write more

Once she was asleep he carried her to the couch and wrapped a blanket around her. It wasn't until eight that morning when everything settled down. Sherri had made a fresh pot of coffee for Kyle and herself.

"Thank you Kyle. I appreciate everything you've done for her. I certainly couldn't do all of that. I'm glad she's got someone she can depend on." Sherri sighed. He nodded.

"I've been where she is and I know how hard it is to stay alive with this disease. I got lucky and mine is only mild but Shylan…she needs more help than I did. And I can't let her do it alone."

"She's spent a good portion of her life alone." Sherri muttered.

"I know. And I know her mom did the best she could while she was still here but it wasn't enough. Shylan's mom didn't get her the help she needed."

"I know. I remember walking into this house three months ago. Shylan was still a mess and the social worker was having a hard enough time with her. Between the drug abuse, depression, losing her only parent and her disease I'm surprised she's made it this far. The girls a soldier." Sherri told Kyle.

"What about her father? Where is he during all this? Wasn't he called?" Shylan wouldn't talk about her father with anyone, not even Kyle. And he knew everything about her.

"No one knows where he is. The last anyone heard from him was back when Shylan was six. He was called because my sister hadn't taken her to school in four days. He was here one day and gone the next. I don't even think he knows that she's schizophrenic. It's just us." Kyle nodded. In the three months that Shylan had been living with her aunt, she had never told anyone any of this and Kyle and Sherri had never had a chance to talk about any of this.

"Last night was her first psychotic break she's had since she lost her mom. Her longest stretch yet." Kyle reassured Sherri.  
"I just feel like I am not doing enough. I hardly know the girl and she doesn't talk to me about anything. In the three months we've been together she's gotten in more trouble than I've ever known a fifteen year old to get into. I don't know enough." Sherri began to tear up.

"Here's my number. You know I'm around the corner and I'll be here in a heart beat for her. I've known Shylan since I was seven years old; we've been together for almost twelve years. I'd do anything for her, I can't lose her. She's my best friend." Kyle said. Sherri nodded. Shylan rolled over on the sofa and began to make noises. Kyle rushed up from his stool in the kitchen and ran over to her. Shy opened her eyes and looked directly at Kyle.

"Oh thank god, you're back." He kissed her forehead. Shylan couldn't wrap her arms around him. Kyle kneeled in front of her and held onto her hands.

"I swear for a second I thought I had lost you." He whispered. Kyle hadn't been that scared in years. She blinked a few times before saying, "Where am I?"

"You're at home. Aunt Sherri is here. You're safe Shy." Shylan sat up rubbing her eyes.

"Is he gone?" She whispered. Kyle sat on the couch hugging her, "He's gone Shy and he isn't coming back." Sherri came into the room with both of her pill bottles. Shylan took them and took her medication for the morning. She lay back down on the couch playing with the tassels on the blanket.

"Maybe it's a good thing her father isn't around. I'm not sure he could handle any of this." Sherri whispered.


	6. Chapter 6

Another short section!

"I'm telling you we need to go north and follow the trail!" Sam yelled at Dean. Dean sat on the hood of his car with a beer in his hand. He shrugged. It was April. Another month left and it would be summer. Another month and she would be sixteen. He had been counting down the days since January.

"Dean? Are you even listening to me?" Sam came around and asked.

"What? Yeah, sorry Sam. Hey I was thinking we would just drive through Franklin see what's happening there." He said without a hint of anything in his voice.

"Dean, you can just say it. I know where you want to go. I'm just as aware of what next month is as you are. I know who you want to be with."

"But I can't be with them Sam, you know that. It's too dangerous."

"Is it too dangerous to visit?"

"It will be ten years since I've seen her. She's all grown up Sam. I've missed everything and I bet she hates me." Dean threw his bottle into the tall grass. Sam shook his head. Dean was the most stubborn brother Sam had; Dean was also his only brother.

"There's only one way to find out." Sam said going around the car and getting in. Dean followed him and started the Impala. The boys were off on another adventure; back to Franklin, Indiana.


	7. Chapter 7

Shylan woke up at two in the morning. She had spent most of the last two days sleeping. Each time she woke up, Kyle was still there. He hadn't left her for two days. She rolled over and held onto his arm. His eyes fluttered open and Shy smiled at him.

"Hey, sleepy head." Kyle whispered kissing her forehead.

"Hi." She kissed his lips smiling.

"How do you feel?" Kyle asked.

"Better. Calm." She answered. Kyle nodded. "I'm sorry, Kyle."

"Sorry, for what?"

"For losing control again."

"It's not something you can help doing Shy, don't be sorry." She sat up and put her head on her hands. Shylan had on only a tank top and Kyle stared at her back again. His fingers traced her back. He bruises were yellow and almost healed now but her scars were permanent.

"Kyle, those aren't your fault. I can't say that enough."

"Sometimes I feel like they are. If I had been a better friend I would've noticed something was wrong and-"

"It's a miracle I didn't forget to take my medication more than I did back then. But that's all in the past now, it's over. We are safe. I try not to think about them anymore." He didn't want to remind her of how much she did forget to take her medication.

He touched her face, "I love you Shy." She lay back down and pulled Kyle closer to her. She kissed him as he slowly stripped off his shirt. Kyle hadn't really left her bed for two days. His fingers ventured around her body like they had a million times before. She smiled between his kisses.

Once the sun came up she rolled out of bed and threw a sweatshirt on and a pair of pants. Kyle was still sleeping. Shylan grabbed four pills from her bottles and went downstairs. Her hands were shaking as she walked downstairs. Shy sat at the island while her aunt made breakfast.

"Good morning. How are we feeling?" She asked her niece. Shy shrugged and poured herself a cup of coffee. Her hands couldn't stop shaking and the coffee spilled on the counter. Sherri turned around with towels.

"Oh! Sorry Aunt Sherri." Shy said somewhat embarrassed.

"No, no it's alright. I've got it, don't worry." Shy took her cup and sat back down. Shy sat still for three minutes and concentrated on her hands. Her therapist told her to do that everyone morning since her hands tended to shake the worst right when she woke up and her medication hadn't kicked in yet. After a few minutes, her hands felt better and her heart beat slowed down. She took another sip of her coffee and sat still. Her thoughts were racing in her mind. Everything was shouting at her all at once. She stared at the corner of the counter just breathing in and out. Aunt Sherri was sitting at the kitchen table eating her cereal watching the morning news. There was loud clash sound that made Shy jump. She turned around a butter knife in her hand. Kyle stood in the living room in his sweat pants. He held up his hands when he saw the knife in her hand. She took a deep breath in putting the knife down.

"Sorry, I thought…never mind. I'm safe." She nodded. Kyle nodded and grabbed some coffee himself. He sat across from her watching her. Shy had fallen into her silent stare again. Kyle watched as her face twitched with a string of emotions. He grabbed her hand forcing her out of her daze.

"Don't let them take me, Kyle." Shy whispered. He shook his head, "Never. You're safe." He shivered. The house was cold. Without saying anything, he went into the laundry room to grab his sweatshirt. Sherri had washed it for him since he wouldn't leave Shylan's side.

'I'm going to shower before my doctor's appointment today."

"Okay sweetie, I'll drive you. Give Kyle somewhat of a break." Sherri smiled.


	8. Chapter 8

Lovely reviews as usual! Thanks all

Kyle loved the smell of fresh laundry. It was the first break of pure relief he had had in two days. He regulated her pills and kept her hydrated. It wasn't a burden to him since he couldn't live in a world where Shylan didn't exist.

He could go three or four days without his medication but she could not. And whenever she had a violent attack like the other night, it lasted a minimum of five days. And she had been asleep for two of them already. Now that she was lucid, Kyle's nightmare began. He walked back into the kitchen; Shylan was gone.

"Where is she?" He panicked. Sherri looked up.

"She's taking a shower, relax." Kyle turned around and flew up the stairs.

"Kyle? What is it?" Sherri yelled. Kyle stood at the bathroom door. She had locked it. He jimmied the knob but it was securely locked. Kyle put all his weight behind his shove. The door almost fell over but Kyle grabbed the frame and put it aside. The shower was running and Shylan wasn't anywhere around. He opened the shower curtain to find her sitting under the hot water in a ball. There was no blood but Kyle knew there wouldn't be. Sherri stood in the doorway.

"Oh god." Sherri covered her mouth with her hand. Kyle grabbed Shylan out of the water. Her skin was hot, red and blotchy. She had turned the hot water all the way up. It burned Kyle's hands when he reached under it but he ignored the searing pain to grab his best friend. He sat her in front of him and stuck his fingers down her throat.

"Find the bottle!" Kyle yelled at Sherri. She kept her eyes on her niece while running past them reaching for the pill bottle.

"Oh god. My sleeping pills. The entire bottle is empty. There must've been thirty pills. By no means is three deadly but thirty? Oh god." Kyle began to do the Heimlich on Shylan. He wanted to keep her out of the hospital. Whenever she went in, it took her two weeks to recover and she always got worse before she got better. The nightmares were worse in the hospital. He couldn't let her go through that again.


	9. Chapter 9

"Come on, Shy. You don't want this. I've got you. You're safe with me." He told her. He stuck his fingers farther down her throat this time and held them there. She didn't open her eyes but she began to choke. He held his fingers there until she began to puke. She threw up the coffee she had just ingested and the rest was dry heaving. Kyle began to recognize the small blue pills she had ingested just moments before. She kept her eyes closed but began to sob again. Sherri grabbed a clean towel from the closet and gave it to Kyle to wrap around Shylan. He held her until her eyes got tired from producing tears. He took her back to her bed to sleep. Kyle sat up in her bed thinking. She had gotten her own bathroom moving into this house when she was a kid which turned out to be a bad idea a couple years ago. When she was first diagnosed the only time Kyle went into that bathroom was to find his best friend on the floor from an attempted suicide induced by drugs. She had enough scars on her body that Shy never harmed herself with a knife or a razor. When Kyle was sixteen, Shy had started using drugs. He realized the appeal came from her mom who was an avid drinker. She began getting drugs from anyone who was selling them and she didn't care what kind of drugs they were. Kyle had already been using different drugs for two years himself so he was no stranger. When her mom had been a heavy drinker when they were kids, she ran to his house. When his dad came home already drunk, he ran to her house. The lifelong friends had become drug abusers in some way or another. And while Kyle's mild schizophrenia had developed due to drugs, the doctors explained that Shylan had been experiencing problems since she was little. They asked her mother if she noticed strange behavior in her daughter and while Shylan's mom drew a blank, Kyle began to understand her strange behavior over the years. Shylan had begun to whisper to herself and see strange figures when she was about ten. She told Kyle one night that the drugs kept the strangers at bay. It took another four years for her mom to finally get her the help she needed. Until then, Shy was in and out of the hospital for attempted suicide and drug overdoses. Kyle had been the one to take her to the hospital every time. What Shylan doesn't know is that Kyle threatened her mom to get her daughter the help she needed or he would let a social worker take Shylan away. Her mom perked up, got her help, and fell right back into her old habits.

Shylan turned over in her bed. She sat up terrified from a nightmare. Turning her head around and around forced her to realize Kyle wasn't around. She jumped out of bed and ran downstairs. It was dinnertime. Sherri and Kyle were in the kitchen cooking. When Kyle saw Shy he ran over to her.

"How do you feel?" He asked urgently. She shrugged, "The nightmare. He had bright yellow eyes this time not ash black eyes. He told me I wasn't safe." Her hands were shaking. Kyle gave her two of her Clozaril and handed her a glass of orange juice. She smiled at him and kissed his lips. Kyle and Sherri went right back to cooking while Shylan sat at the island. Her thoughts slowed down and her breathing regulated. She was feeling better than she had in days. The days weren't a blur and she could pick out her reality again. Shylan stood up. The bar stool she was sitting on creaked against the floor. Kyle automatically turned around, "Where are you going?" He asked.

"To grab another sweatshirt, it's chilly." She had a light long sleeved shirt on but her deep pink scars were visible. Sherri hadn't turned around yet which gave Shylan a good opportunity to grab something thicker.


	10. Chapter 10

I know a lot of these are short but it helps build the anticipation haha thanks for the reviews!

While she was back in her room lucid, she went through her sock drawer for her other pills. She took out her little brown bag that contained her tiny white pills. She popped two of them into her mouth and swallowed.

"Shylan?" Kyle called out.

"I'm coming!" She yelled back. Shy grabbed her sweatshirt and ran downstairs. The pills induced her appetite so she finished off two plates full of spaghetti. She was social and happy through dinner and even after dinner she was fine.

As they were clearing the dishes, Sherri pulled Kyle aside.

"Why don't you take Shylan back home with you tonight? You need more than one shirt to wear and I guarantee she won't want to be without you tonight."

"Are you sure about that Sherri? I am fine with just one shirt, I really don't mind."

"Listen, when I first met you the age difference may have intimidated me. Mostly because her mother didn't care who she was with and I figured you were another one of her druggie friends no good for her. But the last week, you've shown me that you really are good for her. Take her home with you, she might sleep better and frankly, so will I." Sherri laughed. Kyle nodded.

"I promise nothing will happen to her."

Sherri nodded, "I know."


	11. Chapter 11

Shylan spent the night at Kyle's house. She smiled when he wrapped his arms around her and sighed when his lips touched her mouth. They were more alone than they had been in days. Kyle knew that it was best if they were left alone because she could be noisy when she wanted to be. He knew how to make Shylan scream and he made damn sure that he did that night. Her Clozaril medication heightened her sexual tension. It was no surprise that all she ever wanted to do was sleep with someone. Kyle was relieved when he was with her when she felt this way. When they were younger she had been with anyone in her range because she couldn't control her feelings. She still doesn't know how to control them but if he can stay close to her, it eliminates a stranger and the next day trips to free clinics to get checked. He's done that will Shy more times than he can count as well. And while she doesn't remember most of those nights because of her drug use, he hopes she remembers the nights she's with him.

Shylan couldn't sleep. She turned on the radio and began to dance around in her underwear and a tank top. Kyle danced around her having fun. It was too dark for him to notice her dilated pupils but he figured she had to have taken something to be this jubilant. He grabbed her body and pulled her close. His fingers grazed the top of her lace panties. Her hands hung loosely around his neck. He pushed his fingers farther and farther down her panties while she sighed at each passing. Shylan moved her hips around Kyle physically feeling how much of an effect she had on him.

"You tired yet?" Kyle asked her.

"You know I'm not." She turned around to face him. Shylan pulled him back down onto his bed. Shylan straddled Kyle. She slipped her delicate fingers under his shirt pulling it up over his head. She slipped her own tank top off and rubbed her chest against him. She giggled spreading her body out over his. He grabbed her slim body and pulled her closer.


	12. Chapter 12

They slept until midday. Kyle had made sure to bring her medication with her and made sure she took it on time every six hours. He decided to take his as well because he could feel the change in his body when he knew his disease was creeping up on him. Shylan looked out the window and finally said, "Let's go for a walk. It's beautiful outside and I haven't been outside in days." She threw on her jeans and one of his shirts and pulled Kyle out of bed. She took his hand and dragged him outside in the lovely weather. They started walking and walked all the way downtown just talking.

"What do you hear?" Kyle finally asked. He asked her every day what she heard. Partly to make sure she was doing alright, mostly because he loved her answers.

"I hear muttering and scheming. I hear coffee being poured and teens screaming." She smiled up at him. Kyle leaned down and kissed her. They walked into the coffee house together as usual.

Dean watched from across the street. Sam was watching Dean.

"He's so tall. How old does he look? Twenty? Twenty-five?" Dean asked.

"Knock it off Dean. You're really going to judge who she's with? You don't know the girl."

"Hey! She's still my kid alright. I have a right to tell her who she can and cannot hang out with."

"Or kiss." Sam interjected. He pointed back to the kids when he saw Dean's face.

"Son of a –" Sam got out of the car before Dean could cross the street.

"Whoa, hey there. Do you really want to walk in on her in a coffee house with some guy? Who may not even know anything about you or who you are? She may not even know who you are Dean. You're already the bad guy, don't make it worse."

"You're right." Dean sat back down in the Impala. "Besides I can't see her. Not now anyways. Not with everything that's going on with us right now. Putting her in danger is the last thing I want to do." Sam nodded at Dean's logic.

But Dean couldn't help himself. While Sam was out getting them food that night from a local diner, Dean snuck out. He knew where they lived; they had been there for the last thirteen years. Dean remembered everything about the house; a big white house with brown shutters and barely any plants growing in the front yard. But when he got to the address, the shutters were green and there was an abundance of flowers. He stood in the front yard for a good fifteen minutes. There was music coming from the living room and movement from the kitchen. Seven o' clock was dinner time around here. He finally got up the courage to walk to the front door. It took Dean another five minutes to knock. Once he did, he wanted to bolt. But it had been almost ten years and it wasn't fair for him to stay away. He was half of her and he wanted to know her more than anything. But it was harder now than ever to try to get to know her. He knew she would always hate him for it too. The door began to open and Dean recognized the long chestnut hair from this afternoon. She answered the door.


	13. Chapter 13

The girl standing in front of Dean seemed smaller than the girl he saw this afternoon. She had on and oversized black lacey sweatshirt. It seemed clear that she was wearing short stretch shorts but the sweatshirt covered them making it look like she didn't have pants on at all. The girl didn't have any make-up on but Dean could already seem the resemblance. The girl stared up at him before yelling.

"Aunt Sherri!" The girl called out. She backed away from the door and called again. Dean didn't know what to say. Before he could say anything, she beat him to it.

"Isn't this supposed to go the other way around? I come find you in three years looking for the man who should've raised me?" She crossed her arms. A taller woman came to the door. She looked just like the girls mother. That resemblance was uncanny. The woman pushed the younger girl behind her a tad and stood in the door frame.

"What are you _doing_ here?" She asked clearly irritated. Dean's voice caught. What could he say?

"I just…I wanted to know."

"Know what?" The girl asked. Dean looked past Sherri at her.

"That you did fine without me." He answered. The girl huffed away clearly mad and back in the kitchen. Dean tried to follow but Sherri stopped him.

"Nuh-uh, outside now." She said sternly.

Shylan grabbed her hair back in the kitchen. Kyle stood up from the counter.

"Oh god, what is it? Who was at the door?" She couldn't speak. The girl was terrified. She didn't know how to handle his presence. She had had an incredibly perfect day. The first in a long string of days. She was ready for therapy and school again and he's screwing it all up.

"It's him. My dad. My dad is here." She answered looking to Kyle for an answer. He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her in for a hug.

"How do you feel?" He whispered.

"Like death. I need some meth." Kyle took her away from the window. He had a clear shot of her dad.

Sherri pushed him down the steps and onto the front lawn.

"Why are you here Dean?" She asked.

"You don't look like the baby sister anymore Sher. Maybe being six years younger than Mandy did you some good." Dean joked.

"Should I ask it again?" She said sternly.

"I wanted to see my daughter."

"Why is tonight any different than the last ten years? You don't need to see her." Dean stared at her, "You don't get to make that call. Mandy does, where is she?"

"No it is my call. I'm Shylan's legal guardian." Dean's heart stopped. Why didn't anyone inform him of this.

"What happened to Mandy? Where is she?"

Sherri wanted so badly to go back inside and pretend that this never happened. He glanced up at the kitchen window just in time to see the tall boy from the coffee house hugging his daughter and pulled her away from the window. Before that, the boy gave him a death glare like no one's business.

"And who is that boy she's with! Where are they going?" Dean tried to get past Sherri but she put her foot down.

"Stay away from her Dean Winchester. You don't know the first thing about your daughter."

"I know she shouldn't be with anyone that old. And if you let her you're not such a great guardian." Sherri put her hand down.

"You always did have a temper. You need to leave right now."

"No. Tell me where Mandy is."

"Mandy is dead. Now leave." Dean's shoulders shrank. For a time in his life he really thought he loved Mandy. He had stayed with her after his daughter was born and frequently called until she was six. Then things got complicated.

"When?" He said with a closed throat.

"About four months ago. Dean, please just go. She won't do well with you here." Sherri said quieter. Dean nodded and walked away. His drive home was solemn. He couldn't believe she was dead. Or that he wasn't first one that they called. Her birth certificate said Dean Winchester as the father. If he hadn't have come, he would've never known that she was dead or that his daughter was living with a young adult. He knew what had to be done though. Once back at the motel room Sam stood up.

"What the hell did I say Dean?" Dean looked up at his brother. Sam dropped his arms when he saw his brothers face.

"What is it?" Sam asked worried.

"I'm going to fight for custody."


	14. Chapter 14

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Dean hadn't slept in two nights. He took out every book about child custody and spent the days studying. Sam on the other hand, made phone calls to Bobby about what was going on and continued with his own search. He wanted to get back to normal which was Dean's goal until two days ago; when he decided to be a father.

"Bobby I don't know how to help him. You remember what he was like back then? Well, now it's worse. He wants to stay and fight." Sam said quietly standing outside their motel room.

"Sam, that's not a bad thing. Dean needs to do this. It's been fifteen years and he hardly knows her. From what you've told, what's worse is that the girl's mother is dead. Dean wasn't contacted, he feels bad. Let him play it out and call me in a few days. I may just have to come to you guys with what I've found."

"What you've fo-" But Bobby had hung up. He wasn't going to tell Sam anything that didn't revolved around Dean and his most recent battle. Sam went back in the room to find Dean where he had left him…for two days. Sam sat across from his brother watching him. Dean took notes and furiously flipped through book after book.

"How's it going?" Sam asked. Dean didn't look up, "Still going. There's just so much that I need to do if I want my daughter back."

"Are you sure it's worth it? You haven't been here for fifteen years; the court won't be so kind." Dean finally looked up. The look he gave Sam made him lean his chair back some.

"I am positive this is worth it. It's my daughter Sam and your niece! Why don't you try acting like you care."

"You chose not to be a part of her life. You chose to continue on with your own hunter life and leave her the hell alone figuring she was better off. Is this better for her? To know the man who abandoned her and didn't even show up when her mother died?"

"For a brief moment I thought I loved Mandy, you know. When that little girl first appeared I looked at Mandy and thought, 'This is my life for the next eighteen years'. I thought we would be this perfect little family and nothing bad would happen. Then demons started appearing around town and I had to leave. I wouldn't put that precious little girl in harms way, she deserved better. I never loved Mandy; I loved that little girl more than anything. She was so innocent so full of life; she had her whole life ahead of her. I was only sixteen Sam; I would've screwed it up."

"It kind of seems like her life is already screwed up, doesn't it?" Sam said. Dean nodded and grabbed a beer from the mini fridge.

"Just give me a week. I need to see if it's even a possibility that I can stay and watch her grow up. I want my daughter to know that I do love her despite everything I've done." Dean gave Sam his famous sad eyes. And with that, Sam threw in the towel.

"Shylan." Sam said. Dean looked at him, "What?"

"Her name is Shylan. I've heard it helps if you know your own daughter's name." Dean nodded at Sam's logic.

Once Kyle had gotten Shy up to her room he gave her two sleeping pills and left her alone. He didn't want her to dwell on the events of the evening. Once her breathing was steady, he went downstairs with Sherri.

"Any explanation?" Kyle asked over a cup of coffee. Sherri sighed, "None. I haven't seen him since he was sixteen but he hasn't changed. I can see why Mandy fell for him but I have no idea why he is here. Unless it's for her birthday. Some surprise."

"You don't think he's going to take her do you?" Kyle asked uneasy.

"Does it matter? That case won't even get to court, I'll make sure of that. Shylan needs something stable right now, Dean Winchester isn't it." Kyle took a mental note of the guys name.

"Does he know about her?" Kyle asked Sherri. She looked up at Kyle.

"No, he doesn't. The last time he saw her she was six years old. Mandy was on track with her life and Shy was healthy. She didn't even get sick until she was ten and Mandy never bothered to ask anyone for help. She helped herself to the bottles under the sink." Sherri pointed. She looked Kyle directly in his eyes, "Listen, Shylan made it clear when I moved in that she doesn't tell people about her disease. She said that besides her doctors and therapist, you and her mom were the only ones who knew. I guess school was easy for her when she took her pills and she can usually keep a low profile during the day. Her father isn't going to know about this."

"What if telling him might scare him off? That's good right." Kyle said.

"We'll see. I want to know his end game first. I have been nine when Mandy but I listened to everything. Mandy told me everything about her situation. She is the reason I focused on school, graduated, and went on to college."

"Where did you go to college Sherri?" Kyle asked her.

"I went to the University of Florida. The farthest school from here. But when I graduated, Mandy called me and said she needed help. I moved back and never looked back on my decision. Turns out, Mandy really did need me. She was battling her addiction and a sick little girl."

"That means Shy would've been ten but then why didn't she get help for three more years?"

"She never let me come over is it was a bad day. I didn't figure it out for a few years; I hardly came over as it was." Sherri shrugged. Kyle nodded. Secrets had both been kept from them. Of course he knew something was wrong with his best friend because of all of the hospital trips but he was never allowed to undermine Mandy's authority. But no normal eleven year old tried to kill themselves. Later, it just became about the drugs.

"Why don't you go on home? I've got this tonight. She'll sleep until early tomorrow morning and I think we need to talk when she gets up." Kyle hesitated. Sherri took his shoulder, "Give me your number, I'll call if anything goes wrong but I'm sure it won't. Give me a little more credit. She is my niece." Kyle nodded writing down his number before walking home.


	15. Chapter 15

Here's another update! Thanks for the awesome reviews

Shylan woke up around six. Her internal alarm clock went off. Kyle wasn't with her but she wasn't as anxious about it as she thought she would be. Instead she threw on a sweatshirt and went downstairs. Her pill bottles were sitting at the counter with a glass of orange juice. Sherri was in the other room talking to someone.

"Principal Simmons, I understand. It's been a hard year for Shylan and a few days at home is doing her some good…That's confidential between the family and her doctors…Shylan is perfectly healthy but taking some time to relax and deal with everything is normal…she will be all caught up, I'll come get the work she's missed. Thank you." Sherri came into the room in the usual suit and heels. Her hair was in a tight bun and her lips didn't hold a shade of color.

"What was the phone call for?" Shylan asked taking sips of her juice slowly.

"For the week of school that you missed last week and today. The two days you were there this week doesn't count I guess." She shrugged.

"I feel fine, I can go today. I don't want to have to get held back a year or anything. The year is almost over." Sherri gave Shylan a parental look.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea with what's going on."

"With him you mean? Honestly, I was just shocked to see him here after all this time. Going to school is a better idea than hanging around here all day or going to therapy. I don't want to talk to anyone about this; I want to focus on something normal." Shylan was being very calm about the whole situation. But she did have a point, going to a crowded, safe school was a better idea for her.

"Alright, get dressed, I'll drive you."

Shylan threw on a pair of jeans and a long sleeved shirt with her favorite pair of converse shoes. Her hair was a mess and the thought of fixing it didn't appeal to Shy. Instead she threw it up in a messy bun and headed out the door. She got to school early when her aunt dropped her off since she had to get into the city by 8 and that took a good forty minutes if traffic was good. Shy always found something to do for the entire hour she had before school actually started. For a week, her sock drawer had smelled like weed because she hadn't been able to sell any of her stuff. Today was the day.

Shylan sat on the bleachers in the gymnasium watching the boys practice for next year's basketball season. Every once in a while someone would come up to her, give her a hug and be on their way. Everyone around them would think it was because Shylan had been gone for so long, but they had a secret. In a morning, Shy could make close to three hundred dollars. It was blessing for her since this was the only job she would ever be able to do because of her disease. After six or seven cliental, a special one came up to her.

"Well, well, look whose back." Tony said smiling. His dark floppy hair pushed around his forehead as he handed her a cup of coffee. Shylan took the coffee but didn't look at him.

"Where've you been princess? Taking some time off like every time before?"

"Yup, that's where I was. Leisurely sleeping in every day, eating home made meals, and kickin it." She took a taste of her coffee. It warmed her insides.

"You could kick it with me." He smiled. Tony pulled a small bag out of his pocket.

"I've got something special just for you. I ordered it just for you, on the house. Let's go." Shylan gulped down her coffee smiling at Tony. If anything, he was good for drugs. She followed him obediently through the hallway and outside. The air was bitter this morning so they huddled close to the wall away from the wind. He handed her a small tan pill and he took one too. Shylan smiled. It took a few minutes but after it was in her system she could feel it. Her energy level was up and she felt happy; really happy. Not the fake happy she was for everyone around her but really happy. Tony took Shylan's hand and spun her around.

"I've always wanted to dance with you." He said quietly. She put her hands in front open palmed and let Tony do the same. "Now's your chance."

"What happened to don't hold your breath?" Tony asked. She shrugged, "I'm influential." He took hold of her waist and spun the girl around. Shylan threw her head back laughing before picking it back up to stare at Tony. He put one hand on her cheek. Shylan looked into Tony's eyes with a devilish grin on her face. She took his hand and led him around back through the athletic equipment and into the locker rooms. Behind the actual lockers, were cots. She pushed Tony onto the bed and removed his shirt kissing his chest the way down. Tony sighed and finally rolled over on top of the young girl.

Once Shylan was home from school, she had an hour before her aunt got home from work. Shylan went upstairs and lit her joint. She blew the smoke out the window when she noticed a black Impala roll up on the curb. Shylan continued to sit in her window seat with one leg out of the window. She watched the strangers get out of the car. They were staring at her house. There were two older men. Right away, Shylan recognized one of them. She knew it was him. He had shown up last night and no one had given her an explanation as to why. Her aunt blew it off and Kyle wasn't with her when she woke up. Shylan lit her joint once more and took a drag. The boys must've seen the flame from her lighter because they both looked up. Shylan continued to stare at them as the one gave her a fatherly look.

"Let's just come back. You shouldn't confront her by yourself and it doesn't look like anyone else is home." The other guy said. Her father stared up at her still.

"I doubt you're supposed to be doing this." He yelled at her. Shylan didn't say anything.

"Does Sherri know about this? Or should I tell her?" He said again. She still didn't answer. Shylan stood up from the window sill.

"Don't ignore me! I am still your father." He called to her. Shylan braced herself against the window edges and stood in the window. She watched his face go from angry to shock.

"It's a big drop." Shylan said biting her lip.

"Dean." The other guy said. Shylan concentrated on the ground. Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She let go of the window edges to answer the text message. It was Kyle saying he was walking down the street to come see her. She looked and there he was. He was watching the guys next to the Impala the way Shylan was watching them. When he saw what they were looking at, he ran over to the house.

"Shy! Get down." Kyle said sternly. She looked at him and threw off her shirt. She was left in just a thin tank top covering her slim figure. The older boys weren't sure what to do. Her father was getting angry. And Shylan didn't care. She didn't care that she was high or had been all day. She didn't care if everyone could see her deep red marks and she didn't care that the man on the sidewalk was her father. Kyle ran past the boys and into the house to get Shylan. His heart was racing faster than ever. She's done this stunt before but never without him there. And he could always catch her in time before something back happened. She watched the two Impala men run into the house with Kyle. Once Kyle reached her room she turned around and stuck one foot out the window. Kyle bolted toward her and grabbed her out of the open window. They tripped backward and she landed next to him.

"Are you crazy?" He asked her. Shylan smiled at Kyle, "My doctor thinks so."

"Are you high?" He asked her. She sat up without noticing the extra bodies in the room with them. Kyle ran to her dresser to get a sweatshirt but it was too late. Shylan had turned enough for the men to see her body. They could see her pink scars up close. Kyle put a blanket around her for the moment.

"Can you guys leave please?" Kyle asked as politely as he could. He didn't like Shylan's father at all.

"I am not going to leave you alone with her." Dean said sternly.

"You have no authority and this isn't your house. It's trespassing. So go downstairs or I'll call the cops. They know me around here."

"Yeah, I bet they do." Dean said being pushed down the stairs by Sam. Kyle grabbed Shylan. "You're reckless." He kissed her.

"Why is he here?" She asked. "I'm going to find out. Why were you at the window?"

"The grass could catch me." Kyle grabbed her Effexor pills and handed her two. He could pick out her phrases and diagnose which pills weren't in her system.

"What else have you taken today?" He asked her while she swallowed her pills. She shrugged, "A tan one." Her eyes started to water, "I couldn't stop. Tony and I…" She couldn't say it; not to Kyle. She loved Kyle and not telling him was awful but telling him was worse. He gave her his big brother look. Kyle pulled her into a hug.

"It's okay Shy. It's okay. It's just Tony and you see him every day. It's okay. You're safe."

"I'm safe." She repeated. He told her to put some clothes on while he tried to get them out of the house. Downstairs, Sam and Dean talked quietly in the kitchen.

"Who is that guy?" Dean asked Sam growing angry. Sam leaned his upper body on the island in the kitchen and shrugged, "Obviously someone you need to talk to Dean."

"Don't patronize me." Dean said in a monotone. Sam shook his head before his phone started buzzing. The caller ID said Bobby, "I'll be outside." He left the room quickly to answer Bobby. Dean walked around through the living room. There were plenty of pictures of Shylan growing up with her mom. They were together on play sets when Shylan was a toddler and her birthdays but in all of the pictures, Shylan couldn't have been older than eight. In the pictures with her mom anyways. Dean noticed that Sherri had somehow gotten a few pictures of the two of them over the years and even a couple from the last year and put them together for her. He smiled at his baby girl. She looked happy in most of the pictures. One in particular caught his eye. Shylan was sitting on a beach in shorts and a long black sweatshirt looking up at the camera. From the vantage point of the lens, you could see a few shells placed around her and waves crashing around the young girl. Shylan looked to be about fifteen. Her hair was wavy and looked wind whipped while the biggest smile, almost like a laugh, was plastered to her face. She looked happy. He heard footsteps coming down the stairs and Dean went back into the kitchen. It was Kyle. Kyle, who was nineteen, towered over Dean.

"We should talk." Kyle said to Dean.

"Yeah, we should." He replied. Kyle went digging in the fridge.

"You want a drink?" Kyle said as politely as he could. Being in the presence of the man who abandoned his best friend was one of the hardest things for him to do. Sherri wouldn't be home for some time.

"I didn't come here to drink beer with you." Dean scoffed at the exact moment Kyle pulled out two Pepsi's and slid one across the counter to Dean. His face turned a deep shade of red as he opened the can and chugged. The air in the room grew thick as neither of the men said anything for a number of minutes.

"Who are you?" Dean finally asked. It wasn't the question he wanted to ask, but it was a start.

"I'm Kyle. Shylan is my best friend. I've know her since she was in diapers. Our parents…they used to be friends." He cleared his throat. Their parent's friendship wasn't something that either of them felt comfortable talking about out loud.

"And you just come and go as you please with my daughter?" Dean accused. Kyle put down his drink. He was trying to give this guy the benefit of the doubt but it was growing increasingly difficult.

"No, I help her everyday! God, you have no idea about anything do you?" He asked angry. "What do you have against me anyways? You don't even know me."

"Oh, I know you alright, because I used to be you! And I know that you're King freaking Kong and hanging around my underage daughter!"

Kyle banged his fist on the counter. He kept his temper under control these days. Especially around Shylan, he promised her that she would never see his temper again.

"Look," He calmed down, "I am here because Shy wants me here. If she ever told me to leave because she never wanted to see me again, I would. But I am here for _her._ She is my very best friend and I would never do anything to hurt her more than she's already been hurt." His voice was low. The shouting would have alerted Shylan. They sat in silence again. Dean was nodding; taking it all in. his daughter has been hurt. He has no idea how or by whom because he wasn't here. He could've protected her, had he been around.

"Those scars on her arms…how did she get those?" Dean sincerely asked Kyle, hoping for an answer. Hoping and expecting were two different things for Dean Winchester. He wanted to know his daughter and part of knowing her, was knowing the pain she has goner through.

"She was little. Some of them she can't remember getting but I'm not sure if that's because she was so young or from the years of drug abuse. I stopped asking about her more recent ones, I already knew where they came from." He lowered his head. Dean could see the guilt trickle through this kid.

"By who?" Dean asked. Kyle looked at him. He had seen Dean looking at the pictures in the living room. He had glanced endearingly at the ones of Shy and her mom in their younger days. The days of homemade apple sauce and afternoon walks to the park. Kyle wouldn't be the one to say it out loud. He shrugged, "I never asked." Kyle lied. The front door opened and Sherri yelled, "Hey! I'm home early! I was thinking we could make brownies for dessert they just screamed…" She dropped the grocery bag when she saw Dean in the kitchen. "Eat me." She finished. "What are you doing here? Where is Shylan?" Sherri looked at Kyle. "She's upstairs but has probably been sitting on the stairs the last couple minutes listening. I'll go find her." Sherri nodded putting the bags on the counter. She ignored Dean and began to put the items in their respective places. Sherri reminded Dean so much of Mandy. She would shop all day while Dean stayed home with baby Shylan.


	16. Chapter 16

_Mandy whipped through the front door to their dinky two bedroom apartment. It was big enough to fit just the tiniest of families; luckily, that's what they were. Dean heard the front door open and Shylan's little eyes turned at the noise. The wind howled outside. Her short brown hair had been held back with pins but now it was flying everywhere. She laughed, "It's like the tornado from Oz out there!" Dean stood up and kissed her cheek. She coddled her tiny baby girl. Shylan's head only had a few strands of dark hair on it so Mandy threw a bow on to make her look pretty. _

"_Any calls?" Mandy asked putting away the small of groceries. Dean shook his head. He put Shylan down on the linoleum floor to crawl around. She scooted herself around the chairs on her belly just lifting her head off the ground. When she rounded the corner and couldn't see anyone anymore, she began to cry. Mandy shook her head, "At least she needs us." Dean half smiled. When Mandy went to pick her up Dean stopped her, "I got her Mandy. Besides she needs a bath. I spilled milk on her an hour ago and she starting to smell sour." He held his noise and Shylan laughed. Mandy did too. _

"_Okay, you give the little nugget a bath and I'll start dinner. How about pasta?" Dean nodded and walked two feet into the bathroom and started running the water. _

"Dean!" Sherri yelled at him. He snapped back to reality staring at Sherri.

"Why are you here…again?" Sherri sighed. Dean took a sip of his pop and shrugged.

"I wanted to know my daughter."

"But why? You've never had any interest before and it seems that you've talked to everyone in this house except the little girl you want to talk to."

"I've always been interested but I just…couldn't." Dean relented. "But everything's changed, I want to stay."

"She's fifteen, Dean. She doesn't need another parent; I've got this under control." Sherri was starting to shout.

"Then what about the scars on her body hmm? Where did those come from?" Dean shouted. Sherri was still. She took a step back and stared at Dean. The color withdrew from her face and she stared at Dean, "Scars?" Her hand flew to her chest and then to her mouth. "Kyle! Oh my god, Shylan." She said quieter. Dean stood up. "You didn't know?" Sherri shook her head, "She must've kept them hidden from me. It isn't that hard to do with all the sweatshirts she wears. Kyle!" She heard footsteps running down the stairs and before they could say anything else, Kyle was in the kitchen with them.

"Kyle…" Sherri couldn't say it out loud. He looked between the two of them. He didn't say anything, instead he waited for one of them to say something.

"She needs to know about Shylan's scars." Dean told Kyle. This time, Kyle's face went ghost white.

"You told her." Kyle looked at Sherri. She was starting to cry and Kyle went over to her and hugged her.

"Don't be mad, I didn't want to say anything before because I figured if she didn't tell you, she didn't want you to know."

"Where did they come from?" Sherri whispered.

"Ask Shylan. I think she needs to be the one to tell you." Kyle nodded going back upstairs. Dean stared at Sherri.

"He told me it happened a long time ago. But it makes me wonder who she was hanging out with and why Mandy would let her only daughter get into all that. Like the drug abuse? Sherri, what is going on?"

Sherri sighed, "I was hoping this conversation would never come up. I was also hoping you would never show up but I guess we can't all have our way."

She finished putting away the groceries and sat down next to Dean. He didn't say anything and let her start her story when she was ready to tell him everything.

"Shylan and Kyle have been friends since they were babies. Mandy met Kyle's dad, Hank, right after you left town. They kids used to hang out all the time but Hank started going off the edge and Mandy wouldn't let Shylan see Kyle for years. Of course there's about a five year difference between them but they were always friends like there was never any absence of their friendship at all. Of course, when Shylan did start to see Kyle again, it wasn't under good circumstances. Mandy became an alcoholic. She picked up the habit from Hank after she was running out of money to pay bills. I remember Mandy starting to ramble about Shylan and the 'crap' that the child needed. That's when I grew concerned."

"Mandy fell off the wagon too." Dean realized. Sherri nodded.

"Shylan started getting into drugs when she was about twelve or thirteen and Mandy chose to ignore her daughter's problem."

"And Kyle?"

"You can't hold any of this against Kyle. He cleaned up, got the help he needed and helps Shy with everything."

"He was a druggie? So he is one of her drug friends." Dean's face reddened.

"No Dean, it's not like that. It took him a few years but he did clean up and hasn't looked back at his decision. He's got his own place and works at a vet's office a few days a week. He makes enough to get by on since the doctor was friends with Hank in his good days. Kyle hasn't seen Hank in almost two years."

"So instead he infests my daughter's life?"

"Since when is she your daughter? Dean, why are you here now? The truth this time?"

"I want to know my daughter. And now that Mandy isn't here, she needs at least one parent."

"She doesn't know you, much less trust you."

"What happened with the drugs?" Dean changed the subject. He didn't want to talk about why he left or why he even came back.

"When she was younger it was bad. Kyle told me he would find her sleeping in abandoned houses with her drug friends or in a huge warehouse where everything was stored. Once Kyle stopped doing drugs, he forced Shylan to slow down and took care of her. And with everything else that was wrong…" Sherri cleared her throat, "It's a good thing Kyle was around." Dean nodded. He couldn't understand what else was going on with his daughter. She was living this whole other life that he knew nothing about. Dean and Sam weren't the only ones living a double life. He couldn't respond to anything Sherri said; none of it was sinking in properly.

"Look Dean, I'm being nice right now. I'm giving you an update on your daughter's life as well as an out. You know about her problems and you also know she needs constant attention because of it. The last week has been hell for the three of us but we managed. It's going to be like that for the rest of her life. Now you know, she's fine, we all are. Why don't you just go?" Sherri suggested. She wasn't trying to push him away in a mean way. She didn't want him to drag Shy into his lifestyle and she also knew that once he knew everything about hers that he'd run. Run fast, run far. Just like before.

"I want to meet her." Dean responded. He looked Sherri directly in the eyes. Her face was a puzzle; a mix of confusion and daze.

"Dean please, don't make this hard…"

"I want to meet my daughter." Sherri slammed the knife she had been holding down on the counter and walked over to Dean. He, being almost a foot taller than her, coiled in her presence just a pinch.

"Dean Winchester, don't think that Amanda never told me about your 'profession'. I'm quite aware of your family and how famous you all are. I didn't believe her at first but then I started askin' around and I know full well that you're never a guarantee. She needs a FULL-TIME parent, not a part-time one and that just isn't you." Sherri said sternly. Dean turned and braced his weight against the island. He couldn't look at Sherri. The truth was, she was right. He ran off even after Shylan was born to hunt with his father and Sam leaving Mandy alone with their daughter. If he had stuck around, would she still have ended up this way? Truth was, she'd probably be dead since every demon in the world would've known about her and used her as bait to get to Dean and Sam.

"I did it for her." He looked at his almost-sister-in-law. "I ran away to protect her. I couldn't stick around too long because if someone started watching me then…she'd be dead. So yeah, I was a part-time parent when I was away. But when I was with her, I gave it everything I had."

"And then you took off for good Dean. Your argument isn't valid anymore."

"Why are you doing this to me?" He asked her. Sherri went back to unpacking the grocery bags. "Because I care about her well-being. I don't want to see her get hurt by someone she doesn't know."

"So let her get to know me!" Dean yelled. Sherri pointed her finger at the stairs and told him to keep his voice down. Shylan had a habit of listening.

"Please, just let me make sure she's okay." Sherri didn't answer him. Dean sat down and looked at his hands trying to formulate his words so they sounded coherent.

"I used to wake up at night and slip into her room. Not because I was afraid for her life but because I wanted to see her. I didn't want to forget what she looked like or go too long without seeing her for fear that I might forget. So I'd sit by her crib and tell her stories about the family she was never going to get to meet. Sam's soccer games and his academic achievement, his grandparents and how they met, and fell in love. I wanted her to know that it may have been small, but she did have a family. I also told her I had to go away on business a lot because I had to save the world and be her superhero. And all she could do was look up at me with those big eyes of hers begging me to stay. She was such a smart kid; I swear she understood what I was saying to her." Dean laughed a little. Sherri looked over at Dean.

"And every time I left the house I would look back and wonder if I would be back. I tried to memorize the front door and how it looked from the street just in case. I always took a picture of her the morning I left so I would always have her with me. I wanted her to carry me through whatever battle I had to face. And while I was gone, she was all I thought about."

"So why didn't you come back? You left her when she was little, why didn't you come back then?"

"I got sucked in. Every time I came home, Mandy would look at me with worry in her eyes not only for me but for Shylan. She thought I was endangering the girl. So one day she told me that if I left again, she couldn't take it if I didn't come back. She told me that if I left, I shouldn't come back. And I decided not to leave again, I didn't want too. But my dad called and told me he needed everyone because he was getting close and even Sam, who was still a little kid, was in on this one. He had every guy he'd ever known on this one. And I wasn't allowed to sit this one out just because I had a kid. I had to protect her because if I didn't, they would find her. And the more I thought about it, the more me leaving made sense. I could keep her safe and none of them would ever know about her existence. So I left. And I've regretted it every day since."

"I can't forgive you for leaving. And she never will either." He rested his head on the island.

"I know and if I could go back and change it, I would. But I did it for her, she has to understand."

"She's fifteen Dean, she won't understand. All she knows is that her father left her when she was a child. And not only did you leave but you left her with an ill sufficient mother." Sherri told him. Dean didn't know what else he could say. He couldn't make it better and he couldn't give Shylan back the thirteen years he's missed with her. They heard the front door open and slam shut. Sherri looked up at Dean.

"It's Sam." Dean muttered. Sam entered the living room to total quiet.

"Sherri, please. Can I just talk to her? How do you know she feels that way, have you ever asked her?"

"I didn't have to. She sleep talks." Sherri said not looking Dean in the eyes again.

Sam snuck past the kitchen entrance over to the stairs. He saw two figures sitting high up on the stairs. Sam rounded the corner so that when he turned his head he could see them but they couldn't see him. The two kids were too caught up in each other to notice Sam's presence regardless.

"I had a dream the other day." She said quietly to Kyle. Sam could hear the surprise in his voice.

"You did? What was it about Shy? And when?"

"It was the night after I stayed with you. I dreamed about the man with the deep voice again; the one who wants to help me. He told me that I could save his family. But they were different this time; he had a son and two daughters instead of a daughter and two sons." She said almost excited. Sam furrowed his brow. Something about her dream didn't sound normal.

"That's good. And they were speaking English this time?" She nodded at his question. There was a pounding from the kitchen. Shylan looked up.

"My legs don't work. They won't get up. Like they don't want to see him either."

"They don't work because of the pills you took with Tyler this morning Shy. But maybe they really don't want to see him." Kyle told her.

"I just don't know why. Until a few years ago I wished he would come back and maybe he could see how mom…maybe he could take me with him. Wherever he was had to have been better than here. But then I grew up and…"

"And you have me. I've always been there and you can count on me always being there for you."

"Forever." Shylan whispered.

"And ever. I would rather have you here. You understand, you know me. You love me because you know me, and you're still here because you know me." Kyle creased his eyebrows. He looked at the watch on his wrist and saw that they had been talking for hours. Those two had been sitting there for hours. Dinner was nowhere near being ready so Kyle decided to take Shylan out to eat.

"Let's go." He said taking her hand and pulling her upstairs. Sam turned to look at them. As soon as they stood up, she put her arms around his waist. The second she did, he took her face in his hands and kissed her. Sam's eyes shot open as he watched. His family instinct was to pull the kids apart but all he could do was watch; they weren't really family since Dean never acted like a father.

"Are you hungry?" Kyle asked her. She shook her head, "I want to do something else." He smiled as he kissed her while she let out a hushed laugh. They snuck back upstairs where Sam heard her bedroom door click locked. He sighed. He couldn't stop her from being with that Kyle guy. He knew that's what he had been doing and stopping her was impossible.

Shylan let Kyle drag her back to her room where he locked the bedroom door behind them. She turned to face him smiling up at him before he had even looked at her. He began to back her onto the bed with his hands. His fingers trailed her body as they slipped off her sweatshirt. His mouth found hers easily. Her lips tasted just as sweet as they always did. Kyle always told her she tasted as sweet as candy. There was nothing they knew more than each other. Their hands traced what should have been an old map because they knew right where to go without thinking about anything.

Sam walked into the kitchen glancing up at the stairs on last time. Dean looked over at his brother who stuck his hands in his pockets like a child. Sam had no idea what to say, nothing could make Dean's situation any better. Sherri stared at Sam. She braced her hands on the island and hung her head. The Winchester boys had infested her life once again. And though they had saved her life once, she couldn't feel pity for either of them now; Dean made his choice which also cost Sam a chance of being family with Shylan as well.

"Have you ever met her?" Sherri asked Sam. Sam took his hands out of his pockets.

"Once. Uh, the day after she was born but Dean told me to keep her safe by staying out of her life so that's what I've been doing."

"You still listen to Dean?"

Sam looked at his brother long enough for Sherri to catch the uncomfortable look passed between the two of them.

"When are you leaving?" She asked. Dean gave her a puzzled look.

"I told you, I'm not going anywhere…" He began.

"I was asking Sam. When are you leaving?" Sherri asked again. Sam looked between the two of them.

"Uh…Bobby says he has something." Sam muttered. Sherri scoffed.

"So go. Dean, that's your life. That's where you belong. On the road with your family. This little girl, she isn't yours. You go be with your family, and I'll be with mine." Sherri said walking to the front door to let the boys out.

"You better go. Shylan is on the stairs and I don't want her to be upset."

"Actually, she went up to her room with that Kyle guy a while ago." Sam cleared his throat. Dean whipped his head up the stairs. Sherri on the other hand, didn't look surprised.

"Dean, don't do this now." Sherri tried to calm him.

"You're not upset? She's fifteen Sherri! Kyle is an adult. I'm going to kill him." Dean bounded up the stairs before Sherri or Sam could grab him. Sherri gave Sam a scolding look running up the stairs behind Dean. Dean hit the top of the stairs looking around. This house had so many rooms that remembering which one was Shylan's was a challenge.


	17. Chapter 17

Hey guys! Sorry it's been a while but here's another update! I hope you enjoy it :)

Shylan sat up when she heard the pounding. Kyle pushed his body off of her to sit up. She looked up at Kyle.

"What the hell is going on?" He stood up pulling his pants back up. He tossed Shylan a flannel shirt to cover herself up with. Her long dark hair was messy all around her face and shoulders. As soon as she had pulled the shirt over her body, the door flew open. Shylan's face shot up at the intruder. It was him. And then, she held nothing back.

"Hey! Learn to knock." She spat at him. His face was in rage. All Dean remembered was the little two year old girl who couldn't tie her shoes and was still learning her ABC's. Now, she was all grown up locking herself in her room with boys.

"I shouldn't have too. This shouldn't be happening."

"Well tough! I'm not the little kid you left behind so get out. I can make my own decisions."

"Like hell you can. From what I've heard, you haven't done such a hot job at it yet." He shot back. Her face displayed how hurt she was by that comment.

"Dean." Sherri yelled harshly.

"Hey, that's enough! You need to learn your place." Kyle said stepping forward to shield Shylan. She stood up in her boxers and flannel shirt behind Kyle.

"Kyle," She moved past him into Dean's face. The girl stood a few feet in front of her biological father.

"Congratulations to you." She told Dean. "You know where babies come from, you can create them. But that's the easy part. Raising me, that's what matters. So just because you knocked up Mandy when you were my age, doesn't give you the right to call yourself my father. So yes, I am going to make my own decisions because if you can get girls pregnant at sixteen, I can sure practice." She said pushing him out of her room with her words far enough to shut the door behind him. Sherri stood off to the side stifling a laugh.

"Is that what you think?" Dean finally spoke. Shylan stood across from her father arms crossed. Her head turned away from him to glance at Kyle. Kyle was watching Shylan very carefully.

"You tell me." She shot back angrily. "You tell me why any father would leave his daughter. If you've got a good explanation then go ahead."

Sherri stood between the fighting duo.

"Okay, Kyle take Shylan downstairs please. Dean." Sherri pulled Dean into the hallway. He watched as Kyle grabbed a sweatshirt of hers, wrapped it around her and began to take her downstairs. He checked the time on his phone and as he did, Dean watched Kyle grab a small, orange pill bottle from the dresser and put it in his pocket. Sherri nodded at Kyle when she noticed he took it downstairs. Dean creased his eyebrows looking at Sam.

"Dean, look at me. You need to leave now. You are not legally allowed to see Shylan so you had better go now."

"What was that? What's in the pill bottle?"

"That's not your business."

"Yes it is. I need to know."

"No, you don't. I am her guardian and as long as I am alive, you never will be. Now please leave before I call the police." Sherri crossed her arms over her chest making way for Dean and Sam to leave. He sighed, giving up. There was nothing more Dean could do at this late hour. The brothers passed by the kitchen on their way out.

Shylan was sitting at the island, Kyle had an arm around her shoulders. It looked like she was shivering. Kyle handed her a glass of water as she moved her hand closer to her mouth, swallowing the pills. Dean stopped at the door.

"I forgot something, wait for me in the car." He tossed the keys at Sam who continued on his way out. Dean went back into the kitchen ignoring Shylan as hard as he could. She didn't pick her head up. Kyle watched Dean closely. He pointed to the open can of coke on the counter.

"I'll want this for later." He said to Kyle. Under her breath, Shylan was talking. Dean could hear every word she was saying. As he walked out of the kitchen, he got a good look at the doctor's name on her pill bottle. He nodded closing the front door behind him.

Once he was in the Impala, Sam wouldn't stop looking at him. Dean didn't start up the car. Sam didn't speak. Dean didn't speak. Instead, Dean started at the steering wheel of his car. His glance came up a few times to look into the kitchen window. Sherri was standing next to the oven talking. If Dean knew Sherri, she was mad. He could barely see his daughter sitting there, her head still down. Sherri wasn't talking to Shylan, she was talking to Kyle.

"She looks just like me." Dean finally said. Sam kept staring at him. Dean finally looked away at Sam. "Sam, there's something wrong with my daughter."

"Something Sherri isn't telling you."

"I'm going to find out what it is."

"How? She isn't going to help you. She doesn't want you near Shylan."

"Shylan's doctor is going to help me." Dean smiled revving the engine. The boys sped away from the house for the night.

The next morning, they were dressed to kill. Dean had explained the plan to Sam while he shook his head adamantly about this plan. Sam wanted nothing to do with it, but he was being dragged along. Dean handed Sam his ID.

"Joseph Mandel. Office assistant to Mr. Earl Hauser; Law Attorney at R&R Firm? Really Dean. I don't know about this plan. And what does the R&R even mean?"

"It's going to work. Don't worry about the R&R. Now let's go." Dean slapped his brother's shoulder as they headed out for the day. The boys arrived at the doctor's office around nine. Dean told Sam to sit down in one of the chairs and wait. Sam took a seat next to the fish tank. His attention deviated from Dean to watch the fish when he noticed a little kid staring at him through the glass. Dean approached the office window as a nurse opened it for him.

"Can I help you?" The woman behind the desk said. Dean, in the most official voice he had said, "Good morning. I'm here to speak with Dr. Wesley."

"Dr. Wesley won't be in until noon today. Dr. Eckhart is here this morning." Dean took out his black berry and pretended to check something.

"No, no, Dr. Wesley told me nine am. I had to meet with him about a medical record lawsuit pending for a client of mine."

"I can set up an appointment so you can meet with him this afternoon." The woman said in a chipper voice. A disapproving sound came out of Dean's mouth.

"That won't work. I'm catching a plane back to LA in three hours. I wanted those records in my hand to review so I could brief the judge this afternoon." Dean looked the woman in the eyes with a slight smile. She clicked a few buttons on her computer before looking back at him.

"I could have them faxed to your office as soon as Dr. Wesley gets here. But I can't hand those records over to you, office policy and doctor patient confidentiality, you understand."

"Of course, of course. Joseph, find my fax number for me." Dean turned back to Sam. He jumped at the sound of his name before nodding and walking out of the office. Sam stood just outside the door and dialed Dean's cell. Dean began to say something to the receptionist, when his phone rang. He stepped away from the desk to answer.

"This is Earl Hauser. Good morning sir. No, it seems Dr. Wesley and I had some miscommunication. He hasn't arrived yet. No, he won't be here until noon. I'm aware sir, I wanted him on the record as well. Most importantly I wanted those medical records. Please, sir, don't push the court date back. I'll obtain what you need. Yes sir." Dean put his hand over the receiver. He noticed the woman watching him. "I'm sorry. The judge wants to nail this guy as badly as I want to settle the divorce with my wife. Sir…" As he started talking, the receptionist caught his attention. She gestured for him to come closer, "If you would like, I can have Cindy our office manager show you to the records room. Then you've got half of what you need for the judge. I just need confirmation from the judge so I can sign off on the records." Dean brought his attention back to the phone.

"Sir, I'm passing you off to Rita at reception in Dr. Wesley's office. If she speaks with you, she can grant us the records release." Dean gave the phone to the receptionist.

"This is Rita at reception."

"Good morning Ms. Rita. I am Judge Henry Hummel at the LA First District Court of Justice. We just need your office clearance to obtain the medical records for a few patients. The patients have all signed an agreement with us that we cannot release their names but I can tell you they are suing certain establishments for wrongful termination and deceit."

"Oh yes, of course. I'll send your associate to our room with the office manager Cindy. Shall I have Dr. Wesley call Mr. Hauser when he arrives today?"

"No, let Earl call him. The record is the only thing we need to move this case along. The statement of Dr. Wesley was a formality. Thank you Rita, you've been a real help." She handed the phone back to Dean as Sam walked back in.

"We don't need that number Joseph. Call my client and tell them everything is set for this afternoon." He nodded following Dean back into the offices.

"Here you go boys. Anything else?" Cindy said.

"No, but I'll be sure to call you when I need something." Dean said looking Cindy up and down. She smiled with a hint of a blush. The door closed behind her as she left.

"Okay start digging." Dean said. Sam opened a drawer but looked at Dean, "What is Amanda's name? I'm sure she didn't keep Winchester after you left."

"Burgess. Shylan Margaret Burgess." Dean said startled by the realization. Once the B's were found, the boys flipped quickly. Sam pulled out the file and set it on the table. Page after page, he handed to Dean to photo copy with the machine in the room. Once it was successfully copied the boys put it back. When Cindy came back in, they were packing everything up, saying thank you's and heading out. Dean drove them back to the motel room and as soon as the door to the room was closed behind them, he opened the report. His eyes scanned every page meticulously.

"Her file is thick." Dean looks up at his brother with an unsure look on his face. He quickly forces it away and begins.

"Alright Born April 5th 1996 as Shylan Margaret Winchester. Name changed September of 1998. Her first hospitalization was when she was ten because a massive cut on her back. 23 stitches later she was released back into Mandy's custody. A few months later, a boy brought her in because of a cut on her palm. A knife cut straight through; 8 stitches. Then nothing until she was twelve. A boy brought her in for excessive drug use. Over night stay and they called it 'accidental overdose'. There was quite a string of those. Everytime it's a boy who brings her in. There are several suicide watches, attempts…" Dean puts the file down for a moment. This was the life his daughter had. Suicide attempts and drug overdoses. Would her life have been different had he stuck around?

He picks the file back up. "It looks like Kyle brought her in for some blood work three times a year to check for diseases. Sexually active at twelve right after the first drug overdose. That's it until she's fourteen. The drug usage lessens and a diagnosis is given for her abnormal behavior. Insomnia, drug addiction, child paranoia, self infliction, constant headaches, talking to herself, overly vivid dreams without the use of language or color."

"Those are intense symptoms." Sam commented. Dean looks at his brother.

"Those pills were to help her with her disease."

"Oh god, Dean." Sam assumed it was going to be STD outbreak prevention drugs.

"She's taking anti-depressant medication." Sam let's out a sigh of relief.

"It could be worse, look at the hand she's been dealt."

"Sam." Dean continues. "That's the easy part. My daughter is schizophrenic."


	18. Chapter 18

Sam looks over at Sam from across the table and takes the file. His eyes read those words for themselves and look back at his brother.

"Is it from the drugs?" Sam asks. Dean is staring at the table. Sam continues to look through it. "It can't be she was showing signs of child schizophrenia early on. That would explain the hospitalizations and her erratic behavior…Dean?" Sam looked up. Dean had gotten out of his chair quiet as a mouse. He was pacing around the room one hand on his head, the other on his hip. His hand gripped down his face as he paced.

"I can't believe this. She was fine one day and then…what? She's sick? I never noticed anything wrong with her."

"You didn't know you had to Dean. This isn't your fault…" Sam tried. Dean kicked over his chair.

"Dammit! It's my fault. Mandy didn't give a shit about her daughter her entire life and neither did I. I just left without so much as a birthday card each year. If I had been around I could've caught this early on and helped treat it. I could've stopped the scars on her body and avoid the drug addiction. She could've had a better life!" Dean kicked his now broken chair. Sam stood up.

"Dean stop. None of this is your fault. You didn't know, you couldn't have done anything to fix this. Schizophrenia isn't like a cold, it doesn't go away. She was born with it Dean. It's genetic in her case. Mandy must have a relative with the same disease and that's where Shylan got it from." Dean looked at Sam comprehending. He grabbed the file and started searching.

"No family history of schizophrenia present in family members. Great." Dean said. He tossed the file down pacing again.

"Then she lied," Sam reassured, "She would do that to protect her family-"

"Or jeopardize Shylan's life. There is so much I don't know about Mandy." He said disgruntled.

"We've got Shylan's history, let's at least learn about your daughter. Go to Sherri and ask her about the disease. You know she knows."

"I know she does. I could tell they were hiding something Everytime I went to see her." Dean finally sat down. The look plastered on his face was regret and an emotion Sam couldn't place.

"What is it?" Sam asked his big brother.

"I just don't know if this is the right thing to do anymore. It was different when all I did was leave but now…I didn't just leave my daughter, I left her in the hands of an alcoholic to fend for herself against addiction and disease. Maybe we should just go."

"What happened to fighting for her Dean? Look, I get the odds are against you and yeah, it's a lot to take in but she's still your daughter. She's apart of you as much as she is Mandy and Sherri. But she's your daughter, not Sherri's. I've watched you every year on her birthday. The first couple years you'd call and leave a message and then one year you couldn't get to a phone so you didn't call. One year you tried to go visit but you couldn't because seeing her would break you. Then, you just left her alone. I remember it because that was the year Mandy gave it to you for being gone so much."

"But by then she was into her drug abuse." Dean muttered. That year, Shylan had turned twelve.

"You didn't know that. Every year since on her birthday and Christmas and even Father's Day you get this look on your face that makes me think the world broke you in a million pieces and you don't know where to start to fix it." Sam told his brother. Dean looked at him.

"If I was fighting Mandy that might be different." He told Sam.

"Or they'd ship her off to the state."

Dean sighed picking up the file again.

"That year I called Mandy, she sounded like herself."

_Dean sat outside the motel room. He was sick of those rooms, stuck with his dad and Sam fighting. The only silence he got anymore was when he was alone. Instead of being in there with them, he sat outside a lot or went to a nearby bar. He held his cell phone in his hand. It was 11:59 pm. One minute until his eleven year old daughter turned twelve. He hadn't tried to call her in a few years much less see her. They were probably all asleep but he had to hear her voice. Dean hasn't ever heard his daughter speak anything past babble. He dialed Mandy's number without thinking about it. The phone was at his ear instantly. Dean shut his eyes to keep calm. His stomach was in knots thinking about his family. After three rings, Dean wanted to hang up. He started to pull the phone away from his ear when a tired voice called to him from the other end. _

_"Dean? Is that you?" He heard Mandy's voice. It was as calming and soothing as it had always been. His heart slowed down and his voice came back to him. _

_"Mandy?" He asked._

_"Is everything okay? I haven't heard from you in years. Are you okay?" She sounded concerned. He assumed she would be mad but since she wasn't his relaxed even more._

_"I've just… yeah, everything is fine. We got caught up with a few jobs out West."_

_"Good then what the hell were you thinking? I thought you were dead. After I stopped hearing from you, I swear I convinced myself you were dead because why else would you forget about your family."_

_The sudden change of emotion in her voice threw Dean off base. He had to hold the phone away from his ear so she didn't cause hearing loss. _

_"I didn't do it on purpose Mandy-"_

_"No, of course not Dean. It's never your fault. You have no idea what's even going on in her life Dean."_

_"I know, I'm sorry Mandy." The motel door opened and Dean heard it click shut. Sam was standing next to the door, his arms folded. He didn't have to guess who Dean was talking to. _

_"No, you're not sorry. If you were you'd be here. You would've been here."_

_"You know why I couldn't." He argued._

_"Oh cut the shit Dean. The whole 'save the world' piece you claim is getting old so pick a new reason why you won't come see your daughter. Or I'll pick it for you; you really don't want to be a father. Everyone gets scared, I know. But I've been doing it for 12 years and it's tiring Dean. And you're off doing what? Chasing demons to the ends of the Earth?"_

_"You want me home? I'll come home if you she needs me." He heard Mandy scoff. _

_'Only if she needs you? What if I needed you? No, forget it Dean. Have fun chasing demons I don't want you here. You broke my heart once I don't want you breaking hers."_

_"Mandy I love you, you know that. I would do anything for you and Shylan! I've stayed away because it would keep you safe. Don't tell me I'm the bad guy for doing what I thought was best! Don't do this!" Dean tried. He was growing angry with her accusations while the feel of tears in his eyes started to sting. She would hang up on him without a look back. _

_"You don't know what that means Dean. You never did or you would be here with us right now." There was a long pause. Dean couldn't speak, his voice was gone once again. "We haven't been a family for a long time Dean. You and me, we were never meant to last." Then the line was gone. Mandy hung up and Dean didn't redial the phone. He sat down on the curb only to stand back up in another second. Without thinking, he threw his phone across the parking lot sidewalk and pounded his fist into the side of the motel. Sam waited until he had sat down again to sit by him. It wouldn't be the first time Dean took his anger out on Sam. The boys sat there in silence for a long time before anything was said. The boys didn't speak but there wasn't a need for words. The last thing Dean heard before he went inside was Sam._

_"I'm leaving for college in four days."_


	19. Chapter 19

Thanks for all the great reviews! Here's another little slice of my story

"That's in the past Dean. Mandy isn't even around anymore and her track record…" Sam picked up the files. His eyes widened for a split second.

"The state did take Shylan away for almost two weeks last year after she turned fourteen. Mandy had run her out of the house with a knife after cutting her on the back." Dean snatched back the file.

"I can't read that anymore. I'm going to a lawyer tomorrow to find out what I have to do to keep Shylan in my custody. I want to be her father." And just like that, his mind was set.

Shylan sat up in bed. The only thing that flashed through her mind was her father. The only thing she knew was his name; Dean. Her aunt had forced Kyle to go home tonight so Shylan was all alone. Her window had been locked per Kyle's demand so she didn't have a cool evening breeze to calm her down. Instead she grabbed her phone for a light and went to her sock drawer and took out the tan pills Tony had given her the day before. She popped two into her mouth and walked to her bedroom door. She quietly opened the door and stood in the hallway. The house was quiet. Her aunt had gone to sleep hours ago and it was only Shylan who couldn't sleep now. She glanced at the clock and counted back through the hours. She didn't need to take another one of her pills until the sun started to come up. The girl tiptoed downstairs past the living room and the kitchen. She quietly unlocked the front door. It shut quietly behind her as she took in the silence. Her long locks flowed around her slim figure. There was no one around so she didn't have a sweatshirt on. It was just a cotton tank top and her favorite pair of shorts. The girl tipped her head towards the sky before sitting down on the porch. She took out the sock she grabbed out of her drawer. She pulled out her lighter and pack of cigarettes lighting one. It had been months since she'd smoked but tonight was a delicate situation. Shylan took a long, slow drag before exhaling.

Before long, the world started to change colors. Her small world got smaller and it was just her. There was no father or mother. The world was completely silent while nothing else mattered. She tipped her body back onto the concrete porch and lay still. Her body absorbed the moonlight as her eyes drifted closed. Quietly, she began to sing an old lullaby that had been stuck in her head for days now. Her world was perfect on nights like this. Nothing else mattered. She finished off the cigarette in her hand before tossing it into the street. The world was coming back to the black and white, right and wrong she was used to seeing.

Shylan stayed home from school another day before her aunt decided it was time. She would spend the day in school and about half way through see a counselor. Shylan was glad to be back to school and away from the house again. Kyle was texting her throughout the day making sure she was alright and she did her best to stay away from Tony. Without his help, she sold the contents of her sock drawer drugs in small bags to her classmates. She sat at her usual lunch table outside since it was still warm and slipped the bags into the hands of anyone who wanted them. Shylan sat quietly waiting for anyone who wanted them while reading an Ernest Hemingway novel. She'd done this before for days on end with no trouble because she was smart about it. Didn't talk to anyone, and it helped that she didn't have many friends. Even her 'drug partner', Callie, avoided her most of the time. Callie was afraid of Shylan because of the extensive drug use. They would pass each other in the halls but words were not exchanged. But today, Callie came up to her.

"So you're back." Callie said sitting down across from the girl. Shylan didn't even look up from her book.

"Yup, I'm back."

"Good, I need more." She held out her hand expecting to receive what she wanted.

Shylan finally looked up. "I'll give you more when I get my money." This time she held out her hand towards Callie.

"Screw you. I did all the hard work while you were out playing sick for two weeks. I think I'll keep it this time around. Maybe the next time too." Callie shrugged. Shylan stood up then packing her stuff to leave.

"Then I guess you're not getting my stuff."

"That's fine; I'll get it from Tony." Shylan looked Callie in the eyes.  
"Go ahead and try. I've told him not to sell to you Callie."

"He won't have a choice once the administration finds out about your drug dealing. You'll be expelled and Tony will have no choice but to sell to me." She said triumphantly.

"That's your big plan? You want to expel me because you want to sell drugs? You've got issues."

"From what I've heard so do you. Hope Tony was good in bed." Callie laughed. Shylan grabbed her bag and walked away.

"You've got 24 hours to give me what I want!" Callie screamed at the girl. She went through the rest of her day uneventful. Her counseling session was uneventful and her afternoon classes were worse. There was a good reason why she hated school. Tony sat behind her in her math class. He played with the ends of her hair the entire period before she put it in a ponytail which didn't stop him. He started to whisper things into her ears so she sat forward in her seat. The worst of it all was that because of all the drugs in her system, she was tempted to go after Tony. Instead she left class early and called Kyle. He was working today but told her to meet him at his house and when he got off work, he would be with her for a while. She looked both ways in the hallway before walking towards the front doors. Once the opened, an alarm started going off. She grabbed a hold of her bag and ran down the stairs quickly before the alarm was disabled and anyone from the administration came out looking for whoever set it off. Once she was far enough away, she began to slow down and walk. Kyle's house was close to the school and to her house as well. The town was small and the school was central to just about everything.

She took out the key to Kyle's house from her bag, unlocked the door, and walked in. Kyle wouldn't be home for another hour. She put her bag down on the chair in his room and took of her jacket. Nothing about Kyle's house was strange to her so taking off her pants and getting into his bed to sleep. Sleeping during the night was rare for the girl so as soon as her head hit the pillow, she was out.

Kyle crept into the room crawling under the covers without trying to disturb Shylan. He put his arm around her waist but as soon as he did, she rolled over to face him. Her eyes began to open as she smiled at him.

"How was work?" She asked groggily.

"Do you honestly care?" Kyle asked her with a smile on his face.

"Yes, but not right this minute." Her legs wrapped around his body as he moved on top of the girl. Her lips met his and that was that.

Dean had been stopping by the house a few days a week. Shylan was either never home or she was locked in her room. He sat in the kitchen and talked to Sherri for most of the afternoon. He could tell she was annoyed that he kept stopping by but she never kicked him out.

"Thanks for letting me come over again Sherri. I appreciate it."

"You know, Dean, this is only temporary. You can't just keep coming over here every week to hang out with me. And she still doesn't want to see you."

"It's a start. And maybe I don't mind hanging out with you for a while. See what's new with my daughter."

"Where's Sam?" Sherri asked Dean.

"He left last week. I told him to go and see what Bobby had for us and if he really needed me I would follow him. But so far, no call."

Sherri nodded. She took a bottle of Jack Daniels out of her cupboard and poured two shots of it into glasses. She handed one to Dean when he looked up at her.

"You looked like you could use a drink." He thanked her. After two small sips of the drinks from both of them, Dean asked "So, I've never asked but how is it with Shylan? How do you do it all?"

"She's my niece, it isn't hard to do. I just did what I had to do when Mandy wasn't around. She's a good kid, despite everything that's happened. I would do it all over again Dean."

"She seems like a good kid. And it looks like you guys get along really well. I'm just glad she's happy."

Sherri finished off her drink and poured another one. "It's been weeks since you've even seen her and you're still here waiting for her to come down to see you. But I can't force her to come see you. But she does know you're here. She knows the effort you're making." Sherri answered.

Dean nodded finishing off his drink. He poured himself another one sitting quiet at the island.

Shylan sat at the top of the stairs. He was here again. He had been here once this week already and twice last week. Every time he came, she didn't come see him. She didn't say hello, she didn't even like being in the same house as him. But every time, he sat at the island in her kitchen and talked to Aunt Sherri. Shylan looked at her phone before walking back up to her room. Their conversation had come to a lull which bored her. Shylan sat on her window sill looking out at the street. It was almost eight which was when Kyle was suppose to get off work for the night. He usually didn't work this late because Shylan needed him at night most of the time but there had been an emergency with one of the animals they had operated on and the vet needed Kyle to stay late. She waited by the phone for his call.


	20. Chapter 20

Here's another update guys! It's kind of short so sorry not alot of time this week

Dean looked back up at the stairs when he gulped down his second drink.

"She'll come down when she's ready Dean."

"I know. I just want to see her. She looks just like Mandy."

"The resemblance is scary. But she reminds me of Mandy when she was little too."

"I wish I had gotten to know Mandy better." Dean mumbled.

Sherri watched him. He was trying and she had been noticing that the last couple times he had visited. He asked about her schooling, family members, and even what she liked to do with she wasn't worrying about her disease or depression.

"Dean, Shylan has all of that under control now. As best as it can be under control, but there are flaws, as you've seen." Sherri would answer.

And tonight, she was just as compassionate. "You knew Mandy pretty well. You gave her what she wanted, even if it was only for a little while; a family. When she was younger all she wanted was a family and you're the only one who did that for her. After you left…well it was a string of loser guys that usually didn't stick around longer than a week or two. Until she met Hank of course…" Sherri stopped but didn't lift her eyes. She swirled the little bit of liquid that was left in her cup. Dean watched her.

"Hank was Kyle's father? The drug addict right?" He asked treading in hot water. Sherri nodded.

"Yes, he was. But he didn't start off as a drug addict. They met when she moved into this house with Shy. It was about two years after you left and after a string of jerks who didn't treat her right. I don't know how they met but they did and started seeing each other almost right away. Kyle and Shy would have play dates all the time but it was mostly for the parents benefit. Anyways, when Hank started using, which was very quickly into their relationship, so did Mandy. I remember taking Shy for a week or two all the time because of the drug use. Of course, Mandy said she didn't abuse it like Hank did, but after a few years of their relationship, I could clearly see that she was.

"They argued a lot and finally one night when he came home high, he took out a knife and threatened Shy. Hank…" Her voice faltered. "He took the knife and cut into Shylan's back. It could've been fatal but Mandy…she was a parent that night. And after that, we didn't see Hank again. She called me hysterical that he had gone off the deep end but by that time, he was gone." Dean was watching Sherri. _Her first hospitalization was when she was ten because a massive cut on her back. 23 stitches later she was released back into Mandy's custody._ His fists were ready to punch someone.

"She could've died. And all this time I thought it was Mandy who did that to her. The threat came from someone who didn't know my daughter."

"Wait, what do you mean all this time? How long have you known about that? How much do you know?" Sherri asked him, her arms crossed.

"I know her entire medical history. Sam and I…we got her records a few weeks ago. Right after I noticed the pill bottle." He told her honestly. Sherri nodded.

"You know I should be mad. But for some reason, I can't be mad at you for that. There's one less thing I need to explain to you then. But don't talk to her about her any of this. She gets very testy about it, probably because she can remember every incident."

Dean closed his eyes. "Of all the things that I've had to go through; getting thrown against walls, cut up by demons, ghosts and ghouls, hearing that my daughter was hurt is the worse. I can't imagine going through any of what she's gone through."

"Most of us can't. She's a tough kid, Dean. She's been through more than you or I ever have." He nodded.

"She really is my kid then."

Shylan paced around in her room. She had been going to school for the last couple weeks so her school books were scattered around her room. She should've been studying for her biology exam that was on Monday but instead was spending her Friday night pacing around her empty room. Kyle still hadn't called her. It was almost nine now. Shylan had three of her pills left because she had forgotten to mention to her aunt that she needed her prescription filled. She should've done it last week but everything was going so good that she didn't want to ruin it by reminding everyone that she had medical issues that were incurable and more dark days were ahead of them. She grabbed the bottle off of her dresser and held the bottle out the window. She dumped the remaining pills out onto the grass. The bags under Kyle's eyes had started to lessen and he was getting back to working more and worrying less about her. Shylan didn't want to bother Kyle with her disease. He had been dealing with it for a good portion of his life and she felt that the older they got, the more they dealt with it, the bigger of a burden she became. The more she took him away from his job and whatever other friends he might still have. Shylan stopped. It was possible that Kyle didn't have any other friends anymore. Most of the people he had known were part of his drug addicted past; the life he gave up. Shylan may be the only one left from that part of his life. Because for some reason he couldn't give her up, and she couldn't figure out why. Shylan opened her window and let the cool breeze in. the sun had set long ago and her father's car was still parked in the driveway. She couldn't hear what they were talking about anymore since they had hushed their voices to nothing more than a whisper, but Shylan wasn't interested anyways. She sat down on the window ledge with one leg hanging out of the window. Once she had her balance, she lay down on the ledge and hung her left around and leg out the window with her headphones on blasting her music loud enough to force her ear to bleed. Shylan closed her eyes and let the world drift off around her. She forgot about school, her recreational business at school, and even her aunt. She let go of her disease and the medication to help her cope with her disease. Her left arm hung out of the window catching the breeze through her finders. It was common for the girl to fall asleep in the window like that. Her balance was always dead on and in all the years she'd lain out the window in this fashion, she's never accidentally fallen out. There was a slight vibration that ran through her fingers. Shylan turned her head so as not to pick it up off the ledge and looked down. Kyle. She reached her left hand down to him as he reached his up to her. She sat up finally taking the headphones off of her head. She put on her converse and a sweatshirt while sitting on the ledge again. This time she braced her arms across the width of the window holding each side. Shylan swung her legs over the edge. Her right foot moved down slowly until it touched the ledge just below her window. She placed both feet strategically on that ledge and held her body up above the window ledge. Shylan had done this so many times that she moved quickly when she snuck out her window now. She pushed her body down until her feet touched the siding that she could stand up for support. Once her feet touched that ledge, it was a quick jump down to the grass.

Kyle shook his head. She smiled up at him.

"You always amaze me when you do that." He kissed her. She looked back up at her window.

"It's not as high up as it seems. But it's a nasty jump straight from the window." She said quietly. Kyle took her hand in his before they started walking.

"Is he still coming by?" Kyle finally asked her.

"Almost every night now. I don't understand his logic. He never sees me so what's the point of showing up? He talks to Aunt Sherrie the entire time. Most nights it ends in a fight but recently…I don't know, it's been civil."

"That's a good thing isn't it? I mean if he's going to stick around it's better if they start to act civil with each other."

"But I don't want him to stick around. I thought I made that clear but I guess I wasn't clear enough." She slowed her pace. Kyle watched her. Shylan stopped walking altogether for a moment before shaking her head and continuing on.

"Are you okay?" Kyle asked Shylan. She looked up at him.

"I'm fine. I just…never mind, I'm fine."


	21. Chapter 21

Sherri poured herself another glass of wine. She was beginning to find Dean's company very enjoyable. They didn't talk about Shylan the entire time nor did he mention anything about Mandy anymore. If he did, it was something simple. But Sherri was as patient as she could be with him; she understood that Mandy's death was hard on Dean but he was gone for most of her life, so it couldn't have been a shock when she left the world permanently.

"Should I even ask?" Sherrie said to Dean. They had started playing a truth game after two glasses of wine. Sherrie was on glass number four. Dean looked up at her inquisitively.

"If I don't like the answer I'll pass. I've still got one left." He shrugged.

"How old were you when you lost your V-card?" She asked almost afraid to get an answer.

"Well when I met Mandy I was probably around three. So I'd say within that last year I had lost it."

"Do you remember who it was?"

"Her name was Shelby. She was maybe 16 or 17 years old, a junior in high school. Tall, with long red hair that was usually put into braids. I wasn't the man you see before, not even close to this. So instead of just walking up to her to ask her out, I just went to every volleyball game I could that season and sat in the front row. I think she caught on that I was watching her alone because it only took three games for Shelby to come over to me. First she asked me if I was retarded or something because I was always staring. When I answered no, she took my hand and led me to her car. She didn't tell me where we were going so I just followed like a lost puppy because I was still in shock that she was talking to me. One thing led to a drink and then another and another and soon I don't remember anything. Very cliché, I know but that's it. I must've called Sam somehow without dad finding out because the poor kid showed up a block away waiting for me because he knew the area and I didn't know how to get home. Shelby had taken me into the woods and then just left once I was out." Dean said very matter-of-factly.

"Very cliché, you're right." Sherri tried not to laugh.

"You don't feel sorry for me?" Dean tried to act offended.

"You've had almost seventeen years of sympathy, you'll live." She joked.

Shylan grabbed her hat off of Kyle's bedside table along with her shoes. It was a cool night, not too cold but she snatched one of his sweatshirts anyways to wear outside. Shylan sat by the front door putting on her shoes. She glanced back at Kyle. He was asleep in the bedroom, unaware of her absence. The door creaked as she exited the house, but Shylan didn't care anymore. The breeze hit her face. It sent a shock through her body that kept her walking towards her destination. Her phone beeped a couple times. It was Jaime. They had been friends when she was younger. Jaime hung out with Kyle like they were brothers. The boys had been best friends and did everything together; including the many drugs they each did. The ones Jaime still did. He and Kyle had a falling out when Kyle had left the group and invested his life into something better for him than shooting up each day. Shylan turned down the alley across from the veterinary's office. She knocked twice on a door before someone answered it. He looked down at her and nodded. Shylan pushed passed the guard at the door into the house. It was warm because of all the bodies that occupied the space. There was a cloud of smoke preventing her from seeing more than about a foot in front of her but Shylan knew the house so well that she didn't need to see anything to know where to go.

Shylan found Jaime's room and flopped down on his bed. He glanced over at her.

"Hey Scars! Glad you could make it." Jaime smiled.

"Hey Jaime. Whatcha got for me tonight?" She asked him. Shylan had called Jaime to get some stuff for her school supply to sell. She couldn't trust Tony not to see to Callie and once he did, she wouldn't need Shylan. So Shylan went to the top and hit Jaime up herself.

"Take your coat off, stay awhile." He said blowing smoke out of his mouth. The other girl next to him took the joint from his hand and sat up to pull Shylan down next to him. The world was spinning around Shylan.

"How's our boy? Does he know you still see me from time to time?" Jaime asked a huge grin making its way across his face.

"No, he doesn't know. But it won't kill him if he doesn't find out." She answered. Jaime took the joint from the girl and passed it to Shylan. She wanted to shake her head but before any of that could happen, it was in her hand. Her judgment was clouded because she ran out of her medication this afternoon. The empty pill bottle was in her hand. She wanted Jaime to fill it with whatever he had that could help her but she couldn't get around to saying the words out loud. She took three hits before passing it back.

"Alright, Scars is back! Let's get this party started." Jaime said. He grabbed a little Ziploc bag from the bedside table and pulled out two pills and handed them both to Shylan. She held them in her hand smiling down at them. The girl was holding two different kinds of pills in her hand; a blue one and a white one.

"I just picked these up this afternoon. I'm glad you called too because you're the one girl that I always love to have try my shit. These are great. Told me if you take them both at once the effects are massive!" Jaime said pushing her hand towards her mouth. Shylan popped the pills faster than his hand could move and swallowed.

"I need my stash to sell." She said once the pills were down.

"Right. And I've got just what you ordered in this bag." He held her a gallon sized bag full of weed and a few grams of cocaine that a few had been asking for around her school. Shylan nodded handing Jaime a handful of cash for her supply. Her head started spinning faster. Jaime took Shylan's hands pulling her to her feet. They began dancing to the music that was playing in the other room. She shed her clothes one by one as the room got hotter and hotter. Shylan forgot the outside world as she slipped back into Jaime's world. She had always had a good time with Jaime even though it was clear he had a very abusive drug problem. Jaime was skinnier than she remembered but then again, Shylan hadn't gained any weight in years either. He put his fingers near her mouth and when she opened it, a little pill popped in. She swallowed.

It felt like hours that she was dancing for. Song after song, even long after Jaime had sat down with the girl on the bed Shylan kept dancing. The room drifted from a dark red to a purple color and back to red each time she blinked. She couldn't understand the words to the songs that played anymore or understand what Jaime was saying to her. He grabbed her hand and pulled her down onto the bed with him. Jaime touched her face moving down her body towards her neck and down her chest. Shylan had thrown off her clothes and all that was left was her tank top. Jaime got on his knees forcing Shylan too and took her hands. He lifted them above her head gazing at her scars again. Jaime had always had a fetish with the bumps and bruises on her body. Before long, Shylan was lying on her back, Jaime hovering over her body. His hands weren't shy around her as they traced every scar she had. Jaime knew them all. He had no idea where they came from, but he could find them all without looking.

Shylan opened her eyes. She wasn't sure if she ever really fell asleep but she sat up immediately. Her phone was nowhere to be found. Jaime was lying next to her unconscious for the time being. She threw on her pants and a shirt she found at the edge of the bed that may not have even been hers. Jaime pulled Shylan closer again. She let him pull her towards him. Shylan put her mouth near his neck. His hand reached towards her mouth. Jaime's lips neared her ear.

"One more. This one is better than the rest. I can only get a few at a time they are in such high demand." She took this one from him with her fingers and put it in her mouth. The girl stood up but as soon as she did, her limbs felt numb. She couldn't stand or even move her body. None of her wanted to get up. Jaime lay back down next to her touching her body as she sat back and felt the sensation. His fingers felt like sparks on her body as her eyes closed taking it all in. Then it happened. She heard the voice.

"I'm coming for you girl. Soon enough." She suddenly felt daggers all over her body. Jaime's fingers had gone from feeling good to hurting her over and over. They dragged slowly over her body making it feel like knives were cutting across her skin. She tossed and turned until a scream could escape her mouth. Shylan screamed once scaring Jamie away from her. He tried to shake her awake but Shylan's eyes wouldn't open. She couldn't hear anything except the voice that played over and over in her dreams. Jaime's world was gone; Shylan had been transported into his world. It was a dark place but when she spent an excessive amount of time in it, it became a very hot and fiery place. The voice followed her as she kept running. The tall forest trees dipped down low into the forest. They were covered in fire just like the ground behind her. Shylan brushed any fire that touched her skin right off but not without feeling the burning sensation it brought to her skin. She screamed as she reached a wall of brush. It was taller than her and climbing it would be impossible. When she looked up at the top, the voice became a body. He started laughing.

"I've got you child. I've always had you. All you have to do is sign." He laughed. She turned around and put her back up against the trees. Shylan sat down pulling her knees up towards her chest as she let the fire come closer to her. The fire burned hotter on her skin until it was quiet.

"Shylan? Open your eyes." She heard someone say. Shylan moved her head back and forth. Her eyes tried to open.

"Shylan, can you hear me." Someone said. The girl began to thrash around unknowingly. She could feel fingers touching her skin to try and hold her down.  
"Shylan, you're okay. Just wake up!" There was a voice she recognized. It was Kyle. Shylan sat still. She turned her head towards the sound of his voice and slowly tried to open her eyes. She looked past the people directly in front of her to find Kyle. He was watching her from behind a glass window pounding on the window for her to wake up. He had screamed loud enough for her to hear him. The hair framing her face stuck to her face. She turned her head away to see the ceiling. It was a bare white. She saw four faces surrounding her but none that she recognized. The girl saw one of the man's lips moving but she couldn't hear him. Her hearing was still going in and out as she turned her head to the side away from Kyle. She closed her eyes again.

"She's crashing. We need to pump her stomach." The doctor said. None of which Shylan understood.


	22. Chapter 22

Kyle paced back and forth outside her room for hours. He couldn't think straight. It had been at least a year since Shylan was this messed up. His hands kept touching everything he could as he watched Shylan sleep. The doctors had pumped her stomach after she had passed out again but that had been hours ago. She hasn't even moved since then. He couldn't even see her face because she had turned away from Kyle. That was also something he hadn't seen from her in years. She used to avoid looking at him when he would take her to the hospital. When Kyle turned away again to walk the other way he saw Sherri running down the hall towards him. She passed the nurses station and headed towards Kyle without a second thought.

"Oh my god Kyle, what happened?!" She pushed her face up to the glass to look at her niece. Sherrie couldn't open her room door. The doctors had locked it.

"I need this door unlocked right now, please." Sherri said urgently.

"They won't open it until she wake up and the drugs are out of her system. One of the ones she took compromised her immune system so any exposure to germs could infect her and make it worse. We can't go in, I tried." Sherri looked past the glass at her niece. Lying in that hospital bed, Shylan looked pale and weak. Sherri couldn't peel her eyes away. Kyle kept walking back and forth in front of the window avoiding looking into the room.

"How-" Sherrie started but Kyle interrupted her.

"This is my fault, I'm so sorry Sherri. I should have never let her stay with me. If I had known you didn't know where she was or that she was going to go see Jaime tonight and do this I would've called sooner or gotten her home. I would've kept her safe if I had known any of this was going to happen." Kyle's eyes stung hot with tears. Sherrie looked at him. A slim smile crept onto her face.

"I can't blame you Kyle. I'm her legal guardian, I should've known better to underestimate the few good days she's had. I should've seen a dip like this coming. There was nothing you or I could've done." Kyle took out an empty orange pill bottle from his pocket. He made sure the doctors couldn't see it as he handed it to Sherri.

"She ran out of pills that day. The 'voices' as she called them probably took over her body completely and talked her into acting this way. She didn't tell anyone she was out of her pills."

"But why not?" Sherri asked. Kyle only shrugged. She turned her attention back towards the room Shylan was in. The girl still hadn't moved at all. She was barely breathing. From behind, Sherrie could feel someone looming. She turned to face the doctor.

"Sherri I'd say it's nice to see you but…" He turned his attention towards the window. Without waiting for her to ask, the doctor pushed into an explanation of Shylan.

"We pumped her stomach about two hours ago and got some of the drugs out. A lot of them went straight into her blood stream so flushing them out will take a few hours and a couple different IV drips. When we ran her blood we found traces of Ketamine, Barbiturates, and traces of cocaine. Of course you know cocaine, but the other two are traditionally used as a sedative but when taken for recreation has hallucinogenic and very deadly effects, especially when taken at the same time."

"How long is she going to be asleep?" Sherri asked. The doctor glanced at the girl.

"Shylan is a delicate case. Because of her disease she thrashes easily so I am treating her differently than I would a normal drug overdose case. I gave her a non-addictive sedative that only helps to calm her brain while her body fixes itself. That should've worn off about thirty minutes ago. She fell unconscious long before I gave her that though. I have no idea how long she'll be out for, especially because of the amount of pills she took. She could be out for a few more minutes or a few days."

"Is she going to live?" Sherri dreaded the question but she needed to ask it.

"Yes, she is going to live." Kyle handed him the orange bottle. "She ran out today. And she was with me, so this is my fault." He shoved his hands in his pockets when the doctor took the bottle.

"I'm slowly putting the pieces back together. But this isn't your fault. Shylan is one of the worst cases of child schizophrenia that I have seen because of the drug abuse and the abusive household she grew up in. I'm going to try prescribing her a stronger medication, just to see if it helps her to pick out her realities."

"Her realities?" Sherri asked.

"With children like Shy, when this disease hits them early on, they believe the voices they hear and the images they see are reality but then they see this world, the one everyone else lives in and it's hard to decipher one from the other. It sometimes leads to a state of confusion or to an escape from one of the realities which would explain the drug use." Sherri nodded. She smiled at the doctor who hen walked away. Sherri grabbed Kyle's hand. Before she could say anything, one of the nurses walked towards them.

"Did you want her to have a full exam?" She asked the two of them nicely keeping her voice low.

"Uh, well I'm not sure-" Sherri began but Kyle interrupted again.

"Do a full exam." He waved the nurse away before looking at Sherri to explain.

"I found her unconscious in Jaime's room."

"Jaime? That's a name I haven't heard in a long time. He caused all this?"

"He always causes this. She goes to him for a direct supply instead of going through Tony at school. She went to him tonight for what I'm assuming is a supply but instead ended up trying a few new drugs he gave her. it's not the first time I've found her like that."

"So you think he…" Sherri tried to say what was on her mind without actually saying it out loud. She couldn't stand the thought of someone taking advantage of Shylan while she was under the influence of whatever it was Jaime gave her.

"That's why I'm making sure they do a full exam on her. Shylan has been through this before and I don't want anything bad to happen to her this time." Kyle said in a hushed voice. Sherri nodded. She pulled out her phone to check it; no messages. Kyle noticed her urgency with her phone.

"Waiting for a call?"

Sherri sighed, "I don't know if I should call Dean or not."

The doors finally opened. The doctors allowed Shylan to have visitors after two days of solitude. Sherri had run down the hall to grab a cup of coffee while Kyle went into to see Shylan. The doctor stood by her bed. Shylan had dark circles around her eyes and her skin looked sickly. Her eyes twitched behind her lids and every once in a while her fingers twitched too. Kyle knew what was haunting her.

"She isn't responsive yet so she may not wake up for a couple more days but we've cleared out the drugs in her system so her immune system is warming back up. For reasons we can't explain, compromising her immune system forced her body temperature down a bit so we've put a heating blanket on her to pull it back up which seems to be working. She's stable for now but we're keeping her in the children's ICU and under close observation for the new few days. Once she wakes up, we'll discuss treatment." He nodded trying to exit the room.

"Can I ask what treatment?" Sherri looked up from Shylan's face. The doctor stood at the door for a moment before closing it quietly. He put a barrier between Sherri and the real world. He trapped her in a room with her sick niece.

"Sherri, I can't discharge Shy this time without a psych consultation. She needs to be examined to make sure she isn't suicidal. There've been too many visits to my floor in particular." He said looking at his clip board.

"Dr. Flynn you know the reasons behind her visits. Very few were entirely her fault."

He scanned through his board.

"This will be the fourth time she's seen me since she was thirteen for drug overdoses always in pill forms. I can't blame it on her disease every time and you know that. Under the law, I am required to report this to the authorities." He sighed.

Sherri sucked in a gulp of air. "What would they do to her?"

"Most likely enforce a rehabilitation program for her." He said quietly. Her hand went to her forehead preparing for the massive headache she foresaw. She looked from Kyle to the doctor.

"The programs usually last about twelve weeks, no visitation allowed." The doctor continued. Sherri put up her hand to quiet him.

"Can you come back later? I need to think about everything that is going on. The most important thing is Shy getting better so anything after that isn't important right now." She told him. The doctor nodded once and briskly walked away from the family. Sherri turned away to face Kyle.

"Sherri what are you thinking?"

She didn't answer. Sherri kept her eyes trained on Shylan in the hospital bed. Thoughts of her niece dying young and not realizing her limits flashed in her mind. Her fingers searched around in her pockets and in her purse for her cell phone.

"Give me your phone." Without hesitation Kyle forked over his phone to Sherri and she dialed a number that she had etched into her brain for the last few weeks.

Dean had called Sherri multiple times in the last couple days but he hadn't gotten an answer. Each time he had driven by the house was dark and there were no cars in the driveway. It hadn't bothered him until he had called Sherri's office looking for her and they said she had taken a few personal days off.

"Sam, something is wrong."

"Relax, maybe they went out of town for a couple days. Sherri has parents right?"

"Their mom is dead and last time I heard their father lived in the Virgin Islands with his second wife. Where else would they go?"


End file.
